


Reversal

by hickeystyles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, M/M, Nerd!Harry, Popular!Louis, Time Travel, sexually confused louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-03
Updated: 2013-09-17
Packaged: 2017-12-25 11:36:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 70,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/952617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hickeystyles/pseuds/hickeystyles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Louis keeps flirting with you?” Zayn’s voice went up an octave, “shit, Eleanor, what if he develops a crush on you? What if he already had? Then he can mess up the timing when he’s supposed to get with Harry and Harry might find someone else in that span of time and… oh god this is <em>bad</em>.” </p><p>“W-what happens if they don’t get together?” Eleanor asked, her voice trembling. She couldn't imagine being responsible for her dads not even getting together; it would break her heart, seeing as she loved them very much, even if they didn't love each other very much at the moment.</p><p>“Other than the fact that your dads won’t be together which is bad enough? Eleanor… if they don’t get together, you won’t exist.”</p><p> </p><p>(or the one where Eleanor's dads, Harry and Louis, fight a lot but she accidentally goes back in time to when they are young and she has to get them back together or she's fucked. other high-jinks, problems, and all that jazz arise)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hello everyone this is my first fic so I'm sorry if it's bad! I'd like to thank Meghan for being the best beta on planet earth and dealing with my writer's block at times and giving me great advice. I am also not from England so I tried my best to sound witty and British and cool so excuse any mistakes. ALSO, I'd like to clear up THERE IS NO INCEST. Louis and Eleanor never get together or anything. Oh and I'd like to give credit to kennedyswriting.tumblr.com for having a similar storyline to mine, even though ours are very different except the concept, you should really go check hers out it's great! Other than that, please enjoy! :-)
> 
> My tumblr is hickeystyles.tumblr.com if you want to follow me or give me feedback there as well!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don't own/know/associate with One Direction in any way. This work is a piece of fiction, and I am not in any way implying that I know anything about the members of One Direction, their sexual orientations and/or their relationships and all that stuff (although I wish I did)

Eleanor woke up to the incessant sound of her phone buzzing on her dresser, blaring some annoying pop song she didn’t even like anymore. She closed her eyes tighter, silently praying whoever was calling would give up and hang up. She couldn’t get to bed last night, having a late night study session she instantly regretted, hours of chugging down coffee and cursing her history teacher. 

The caller was persistent, though, and Eleanor groaned.

The tune started up again and she rolled over and reached over her fluffy pillows to grab her phone off of her dresser, flicking on her bedside lamp as she did so. She stretched her long legs and yawned, pressing “answer” without even looking at the caller I.D.

“Hello?” she croaked, and then cleared her throat, not enjoying sounding the sound of her raspy morning voice. 

“Helloooo Eleanor! Guess what?!” her best friend’s Cher’s voice trilled through the phone, so loudly that Eleanor cringed and held the phone farther away from her ear. She was used to it though; Cher was a bundle of energy, and even if it was exhausting to keep up with her all the time, Eleanor adored the girl’s company.

“Cher, you do know it’s arse o’clock in the morning, right?” Eleanor yawned again, not even bothering to muffle the sound into her hand. She frowned at her toenails, noticing the chipping paint color she painted them the other day was almost off. 

“Oi! Stop being a drama queen! I have great news! My mum said that this weekend, we can use the old lake house and go up there with Craig and Bobby! How cool is that?” Cher chirped. Eleanor could picture her jumping up and down on her bed, her long brown hair pulled up into the messy bun she always wore to bed.

Eleanor sat up straighter. “Are you kidding? That’s… wow Cher holy shit!” she was speechless; Cher’s mum was usually such a hardarse so the fact she was letting Cher and her boyfriend and her two friends up to their lake house for a whole weekend was mind boggling.

“I’m not! Maybe you and Bobby can finally seal the deal if you get my drift…” Cher trailed off, her tone very suggestive. Eleanor couldn’t help it; she felt the blush creep up her neck, but she was thankful Cher couldn’t see her through the phone.

“We’ve barely even dated,” Eleanor stressed. Even though Eleanor had gone out with a lot of boys in the past, she just wanted to find the right guy to lose her virginity to, however cliché that was. Her daddy Louis always said that him and her dad Harry had lost their virginity to each other, which Eleanor thought was sweet, even if she covered her ears childishly when he had told her. She did not want to think of her dads young and sexual; in fact, Eleanor shuddered at the thought.

“I know, I know,” Cher laughed, “just ask your dads if you can go. I know they’re very protective over their little Eleanor. I got to go though, fingers crossed!” With that, the phone line went dead and Eleanor sighed, tossing her phone back onto her dresser. 

Eleanor’s dads _were_ very protective, she couldn’t deny that. At least, they used to be. When they used to talk that is.

Eleanor couldn’t remember when they stopped talking, or why, but she knew it wasn’t because of a fight. She just knew that her fathers used to be in love, yet they just fell out of it. She thought that it had to do with something in the past, yet she’d never asked her dads, since she knew it was a sensitive subject, especially to her Daddy, Louis. Her Dad Harry slept at his sister Gemma’s house a lot, and Eleanor heard Louis crying in his room more often than not. She walked in on him once and he quickly wiped his eyes, stuttering out an excuse about allergies with the flowers in the room. There weren’t even flowers _in_ the room.

It really broke her heart that her dads weren’t happy, but there wasn’t anything she could possibly do about it.

Eleanor sighed again, knowing she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, tossing her purple comforter aside and slipping on her silky robe. She padded downstairs to the kitchen, her stomach growling, hoping her Daddy went shopping. She walked into the room, noticing her Daddy was already sitting at the kitchen table, quietly sipping a cup of coffee. The mug was chipped at the top but had a picture of a young Eleanor and Louis on it, smiling all big and goofy, and it made her smile to think he still used it after all these years.

“Hey daddy,” she smiled, slipping into the seat across from him. He jumped a little at her sudden presence, making her laugh.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that El, you know I’m old now,” Louis laughed along with her.

“Forty four isn’t that old,” Eleanor rolled her eyes, reaching over and sipping from the cup he put down, “um, where’s dad?”

Louis was quiet, not making eye contact with Eleanor, “er, want some breakfast?” he forced a smile, pushing up from the little wooden chair and heading over to the fridge. Eleanor sighed; she guessed that her Dad didn’t sleep here last night.

“You didn’t answer my question daddy,” she pressed. She looked around the kitchen, at the bright yellow walls and the white cabinets, remembering her dads painting them, wanting the room to be brighter. She’d always loved the homey feel her kitchen had, but at the moment, it was just making her sad.

“I think he slept at Gemma’s last night,” Louis said quietly, leaning his hands on the counter and hanging his head, giving up on the bagel he was cutting. 

“Hey, don’t be sad daddy,” Eleanor said, coming over to Louis and wrapping her long arms around his waist. 

“I’m not sad,” Louis said defensively, but his posture said otherwise, his shoulders slumping downwards.

“Yes, you are. You forget that I love you and know you very well,” Eleanor argued, leaning her head against the strong muscles of his back.

“I don’t understand. Things were fine a few years ago,” Louis’ voice broke. Eleanor could feel him taking in shuddering breaths from her hold on his waist and she hugged him tighter.

“What do you think happened?” Eleanor asked quietly, hoping she wasn’t hitting a nerve.

“I… I have a guess, but I could be wrong.”

“Yes?” Eleanor prompted, pulling back and looking into her Daddy’s bright blue eyes.

“I’ve always been kind of … ashamed? Of our relationship? No, not ashamed, I couldn’t be ashamed of Harry… it’s just, I’ve grown up in a homophobic family, so when I found out I was gay, it was really hard for me. Harry and I got together at a university party, but we were never open. Even when we got married we didn’t have a ceremony, we eloped, even though we’ve never told you that. I just… I think that Harry’s always sort of resented that, I was always the reason we couldn’t come out. We obviously did eventually, but I think resentment built up. We kind of drifted from each other because of it. I just wish I could change it, you know? I don’t know, like go to my twenty one year old self and punch him in the face.”

Eleanor’s mouth popped open, because although her daddy had always been honest with her, he’s never poured his heart out to her, especially not about this subject. She wasn’t mad at him, but she felt a prickle of pity for her poor Dad, Harry, always wanting to be proud of the boy he loved, but the boy he loved not wanting to do it back.

“Gosh, now you lost respect for me, I shouldn’t have said anything. Maybe it’s not even because of that, maybe just because I have a tummy now or something,” Louis tried to joke as he always does, but his smile was sad around the edges and Eleanor cracked a little smile in return.

“I didn’t lose respect for you, daddy, I could never. Why don’t you just talk to him about it?” 

“I’ve tried. The damage is pretty done I’d say. Too late and whatnot. Whatever. I deserve it,” Louis sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face, “look, I’m gonna go to your Aunt Lottie’s house today. Will you be fine on your own?”

Eleanor scoffed. “I’m seventeen years old, daddy, of course I’ll be fine. I have some homework to catch up on anyway.”

“Good. Gosh, I always forget how old you are! Seventeen! Sheesh,” Louis smiled, walking over to her and kissing her on the head, “thank you.”

“Anytime.”

With that, Louis grabbed his jacket and walked out the door. After the sound of the door shut, Eleanor sighed, slumping against the counter. It was then she realized she didn’t even ask her daddy about the trip, and she groaned. Cher would no doubt nag her all day about it.

She noticed a pile of papers on the counter, hastily shoved aside, trying to be hidden from view. She walked over to it, checking to see if the door was really shut, and picked them up. She scanned them quickly, her eyes flitting all over the papers, before she gasped and dropped all of them to the floor. They fluttered everywhere, but she didn’t care at the moment. Eleanor felt as if a boulder was sitting on her lungs and she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

They were divorce papers.

Her dads were getting a divorce.

She felt tears well in her brown eyes, spilling over onto her cheeks, leaving trails as they slid off and onto the floor. She felt a sob rip out of her, the desperate kind, where she was gasping for breath. How could they be getting a divorce? How could they do this to each other, to _her?_ She ran upstairs, flinging herself onto her bed, where the dam broke and the waterfall spilled out. She couldn’t believe it. She let out a scream into her pillow, her face buried deep. She felt desperate to distract herself, so desperate that she actually grabbed her blue and white book bag off the floor, ripping the buttons open roughly. Eleanor’s Sundays were always spent doing hoards of homework she’d neglected earlier in the weekend, so she might as well distract herself with it. Every time she swallowed though, there was a huge lump in her throat, threatening to suffocate her.

After about ten minutes of trying, Eleanor couldn’t concentrate. All she could think about was the divorce. She just couldn’t fathom how you could let a love go like that; she’s heard the stories, vaguely remembers witnessing it herself. Her dads used to be super happy and super in love, overly so. She missed seeing them chase each other around the house with whipped cream fights and trying to sneak quick kisses when they thought Eleanor wasn’t looking. 

She pushed her books aside, homework be damned, getting out her cellphone. The phone rang three times before the person on the other side picked up. 

“Hello?” her dads’ friend Zayn’s voice came through. Even though her dads’ were a little skeptical of it, Zayn was their neighbor and one of their best friends, so when Eleanor hung out over there sometimes, they didn’t put too much of a fuss up about it. Cher thought it was weird, but no one really got Zayn and Eleanor’s bond; not romantically of course, since Zayn was her fathers’ age, but because when things were tough he was always there to listen to her. She’d known him her whole life, so instead of him being her dads’ friend, he was more like an Uncle to her in their closeness. She was close with Liam and Niall, too, but not as close, because they weren’t her neighbors.

“Hey Zayn, it’s El!” she replied, flopping back onto her pillows, feigning a happy voice. Her voice still sounded a bit thick with tears. 

“Oh, hey El, what’s up?”

“Dad slept at Aunt Gemma’s again,” Eleanor sighed, trying to keep her tears under control. She didn’t want to tell Zayn about the divorce papers because she felt like that was something Louis and Harry should tell him their selves. She promised herself she wouldn’t cry over this again, as she always did in the past when her dads weren’t talking. Eleanor didn’t enjoy crying, even though she was a pretty sensitive girl. She always wept in movies, much to Cher’s delight, but the burning in her throat and the stinging in her eyes were not her favorite. Plus, she didn’t like showing she was upset. She liked putting on a strong front for people. She liked being that overly bubbly girl in school that always smiled at people in the hallways.

“Aw babe, I’m sorry to hear that,” Zayn’s soothing voice came over the line, “I have something that will cheer you up though!”

“Just what I wanted to hear!” Eleanor grinned through her tears, “can I come over?” She was already pushing her books aside, knowing that they weren’t going to get finished.

“Course! See you soon.”

Eleanor shed her robe and slipped on a comfy pair of black leggings and a tight baby blue v-neck and flip-flops, hurrying down the stairs. She usually didn’t wear leggings after Cher teased her for not having a butt to show off, but she didn’t feel like slipping into jeans. Plus, Cher didn’t have one either so she had no right to judge. Eleanor quickly locked up the house and walked the short walk over to Zayn’s house a few house’s down. She tied her long brown hair into a messy ponytail as she walked, tired of it falling into her eyes.

She knocked on the door a few times and stepped back, wiping under her eyes again, hoping it wasn’t obvious she was crying, waiting for Zayn to open his dark blue front door. She had a feeling her eyes were puffy and red, but there was nothing she could really do about it. He finally did a minute later, his usually styled quiff in disarray on his head.

“What happened to you?” she snorted, walking inside behind him, following him out to the garage. 

“Very funny El, just so you know I was working on a new project,” Zayn said, his chin jutting up. She was thankful he didn’t ask any questions, because he knew if she wanted to talk about it she would tell him. That was the nice thing about Zayn – he didn’t pry unless you ask him to. If Eleanor went to Liam, he would have asked thousands of concerned questions, asking if she was okay over and over again. 

She forced all these thoughts out of her mind, focusing on Zayn and his news, forcing a smile on her face, and forcing herself to act as she would any other day. When she thought about what he just said, Eleanor groaned; Zayn claimed he was an inventor. He went to university to be an English professor, but when he couldn’t afford it anymore, he subjected to science experiments in his garage that never amounted to anything functional. Eleanor thought it was amusing to watch him attempt to make things.

“A new project?” Eleanor raised her eyebrow, sitting down on a stool. She had always loved Zayn’s garage, filled with his knicknacks everywhere, from the wall of ticking clocks to various items splayed everywhere, belonging to one project or another. A coffee machine somewhere in their chugged in the background, no doubt overflowing with the brown liquid.

She noticed a large thing in the middle of the room, covered by a white bed sheet, yet she didn’t say anything, knowing Zayn would explain soon. It vaguely shaped the outline of a car, but Eleanor couldn’t be too sure. She snorted when she thought of Zayn’s last invention, the way it sparked into a full explosion, burning off a chunk of his hair that still had yet to grow back on the side of his head, no matter how hard Zayn tried to cover it up.

“Yes, but this one actually works,” Zayn grinned at her, his brown eyes alight with excitement. He didn’t let her respond before he grabbed the cloth and yanked it free, revealing what, yes, looked like an ordinary car, just shinier and more high tech.

“A car? Zayn, you know that they’ve already invented these, right?” Eleanor teased, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him.

“I know smartass,” he rolled his eyes, “this is a time machine young grasshopper.”

A what? Eleanor sputtered, her brown eyes widening to the size of saucers. “A what? Are you shitting me?”

Zayn clucked his tongue. “Oi! Language young lady!” he had a shit-eating grin on his face, “but no I’m not."

“That’s… impossible!” Eleanor gasped, “I don’t believe you!” By this point she was on her feet, the stool long forgotten. She felt that her thin lips were hanging open, but she didn’t seem to care as she looked at the car in astonishment, now that she knew it wasn’t a real car. 

“Wanna be the first to try it?” Zayn asked, “It runs on electraform. I got my abundant supply from the store this morning. Salesman looked at me funny at that.”

“Electraform? Wow you actually found a use for it. Don’t even know why they’d want to mix electricity and chloroform,” Eleanor laughed, her heart still racing. If this really worked, Zayn could become a billionaire. He really needed a girlfriend; he had way too time on his hands. With his rugged looks, high cheek bones, big brown eyes, and impossibly long eyelashes, Eleanor could see the appeal. He was just too shy and preferred to stay in his garage, which frustrated to Eleanor to no end.

“Hush,” Zayn laughed, “wanna try it?”

“Is it safe?”

“Yeah. I already tried it on Lucy,” Zayn laughed, referring to his little fluffy white dog, “don’t worry, you can get her back for me.”

“I…” Eleanor was at a loss for words, “why me?” She reached up to twirl her hair around her finger, a nervous habit of hers, before she realized her hair was up and awkwardly dropped her arm to her side.

“Well, I’d come with you of course. I just thought you’d appreciate it,” Zayn chuckled, “I’m not ready to share it with anyone else.”

“I…” Eleanor paused, weighing the situation. Was it even really safe? Zayn’s inventions have failed frequently in the past. She wouldn’t want to come back with a missing arm or something. Just then, there were footsteps and a loud banging on the garage door. The metal doors rattled at the force, the doors quivering from the pounding it just received.

“Malik, get your arse out here! Liam and I want to go play footie in the park!” Niall’s voice came from the other side, “I don’t care how old we are so that’s not an excuse!”

“Go in the machine, hurry,” Zayn whispered to Eleanor, “don’t want him to see it or you right now. You know how annoyed they get when we hang out,” he rolled his eyes at that. Eleanor nodded and hopped into the machine, her eyes widening at all the buttons on the inside. It didn’t look this complex from the outside. There were a few black levers and a round red button next to the steering wheel. The steering wheel looked a bit shabby, no doubt taken from someone’s trash on the side of the road, the black leather on it peeling off a bit. A few more little colorful buttons were scattered, but Eleanor couldn’t even dream about they did. Just as the door to the garage opened, Zayn threw the sheet back on the car, making it out of Niall’s sight.

“Wow,” Eleanor breathed, running her hands along the wheel, tuning out the conversation outside. She clicked a few buttons around, noticing the date on the dial said “2036” the current year. She clicked around a little, wondering how far it could even go back. She reached “2013,” the red numbers burning back at her, when a loud clutter made her jump. 

“Oh for god sakes Niall!” Zayn’s exasperated voice came from outside the door, and Eleanor giggled into her hand. She leaned forward, hoping she could see what was happening outside, when her elbow hit the big red button. 

“Oops,” she mumbled, pulling back, but then the machine was shaking, “oh shit,” she whispered. She gripped the wheel to steady herself, and all of a sudden the machine rocked forward and a flash of white light momentarily blinded her. 

When Eleanor braved the courage to open her eyes she looked around her, noticing she wasn’t in Zayn’s garage anymore, but instead on a suburban street. An unfamiliar one at that. 

_Shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so that was chapter one! Feedback would be appreciated and I promise the chapters are going to get longer and more intense and I apologize because I'm not that good at starting out stories but I promise it'll get better! 
> 
> There will be 13 chapters and the first few chapters are pretty short but they do get longer as I mentioned!
> 
> Thank you for taking your time and reading :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for still reading!

Eleanor looked around, her breaths coming out shallow. She looked around, trying to grasp where the hell she was when she noticed she vaguely recognized the street. There were rows of houses, each about two stories, each built up by varieties of bricks and stones and wood. One she particularly liked was painted a shocking light blue and had red roses scattered in pots on the porch. It looked like she’d seen the house before though, but it couldn’t be…

“But, if it were _that_ street, there’d surely be more houses on it?” Eleanor mused aloud, trying to keep herself from shaking. Just then a flash of red caught her eye and she looked at the dial, noticing the numbers read “2013.”

Holy shit the time machine worked.

Holy _shit_ Eleanor was in 2013.

She couldn’t breathe. Of course it was the street she recognized; it was her daddy’s street. She recognized some of the houses, even though they looked newer here, and the fact there was a lot more land. She recognized it from every time she’d visited Louis’ family that they were in Doncaster, but this was a very 2013 Doncaster. 

Eleanor took in a few more shaky breaths before getting out of the car on wobbly feet, needing fresh air. How the hell was she supposed to get back? 2013 didn’t contain electraform; she remembered when they invented it, in about 2029, her dad laughing at the concept, saying that is was useless. She checked the meter, and it was stopped on the big ‘E’ gesturing that the tank was empty of the fuel, taking in a few panicked breaths.

She ventured out into the middle of the street, stopping at the dashed yellow line, craning her neck to grasp where she was, when she turned around to see headlights coming straight for her. Eleanor let out an ear shattering scream, the car skittering to a stop, tires squealing against the pavement, but not before clipping her and throwing her down onto the road with a sickening thud.

Eleanor lifted her head, her brain foggy, barely registering her throbbing left arm. She slowly rolled onto her elbow before collapsing back down, a sharp pain shooting up her arm. The road was very warm on her arms, parts of the stray black rocks digging into her side.

“Oh fuck, _fuck_ I’m so sorry!” came a vaguely familiar voice, the voice getting closer as the sound of feet padding on pavement came closer. Eleanor blinked open one of her eyes, a pair of blue Toms coming into focus. “Are you okay? Please tell me I haven’t killed you! Oh god please!” Eleanor winced at the loudness of the stranger’s voice.

“Jesus, dramatics, I’m fine,” Eleanor grumbled, attempting to get up again. This time a pair of strong arms helped her up. Eleanor brushed the dirt off her leggings before looking up at the stranger and – _oh._

Her eyes widened because holy shit she was looking at her daddy, only he looked about twenty one. He looked the same generally, with the bright blue eyes and the mischievous glint to them, and the brown hair, yet the fringe he had was thicker with more hair and his eyes didn’t have wrinkles around them. His body was more toned as well, his skin a nice tan, and wow okay her daddy was totally hot when he was younger.

“H-hi,” she stuttered out, wringing her hands together.

“Hi there love,” he smiled, and wow he had a pretty smile too. Ew, this was so weird to Eleanor, because she was obviously not attracted to her father, yet it was weird picturing him young and glowing. But he was here, right in front of her. “Are you okay? You’re not, like permanently damaged, right?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Eleanor laughed.

“Well, even though you don’t seem to have any fatal injuries, I insist you come with me to my parents’ house. I don’t live there anymore, but I was on my way to visiting them when you so happened to be in the middle of the street. Which, why is that, by the way?” Louis asked, but he seemed to be fighting a smile.

“I…” Eleanor tried to come up with a plausible excuse, “I was fixing my flip flop and it flew out of my hand when I tripped and I went to get it.”

Louis raised his eyebrow at her before promptly bursting into laughter. “You are a weird one I must say. I like it. What’s your name?” 

“Eleanor,” she said, sneaking a glance at the time machine. She really didn’t want it out of her sight, but Louis was already heading in the direction of his car.

“Wow, such a pretty name,” he smiled, “come on. Let me drive you. It’s the least I can do.”

“Er, how about I follow you to your house? I kind of need my… car.”

“Oh,” Louis raised his eyebrows at the odd looking car in front of him, so out of context to the car he was driving, but he shrugged, “okay. You better not drive off on me though. My last victim that I hit did that.”

Eleanor just stared at him before Louis sighed. “Ugh, humor!” he threw his hands up dramatically, “no one has a sense of humor anymore!” Eleanor shook her head, wanting to giggle at her daddy’s antics. She had a feeling they would have been friends if she had been born the same year as him.

She hurriedly walked to her car, throwing open the bright purple door, which apparently bright colored cars were not popular in this decade. Noted. She took a deep breath once she was settled in the car, resisting the urge to hit her head on the steering wheel repeatedly so she’d get a concussion and end this nightmare. She knew she had to follow Louis home though, or else she’d hurt his feelings, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt her daddy. She really wasn’t sure how this thing ran, so she gingerly pressed her foot on the gas, sighing out in relief when it went forward. So it was like a normal car, only a time machine when you pressed the button and had electraform stored in it, she figured.

Once they reached the familiar winding driveway, Eleanor parked off to the side, getting out the same time Louis was. She noticed the house still looked the same, with its red door and shutters, and the porch scattered with pots of different colored flowers. “Sorry, I have four very annoying little sisters, beware,” Louis warned, but Eleanor could hear the fondness in his tone. “They will probably attach to your legs like little monkeys. You might not come out alive, I’m just warning you.”

“Ah, I’m an only child, so it might be overwhelming, but I can handle monkeys,” Eleanor told him, jokingly.

“When I’m older, I’m going to have so many children, I love growing up in a crowded house, even if it’s overwhelming at times,” Louis told her, unlocking the door with his blue house key. Eleanor tried to hide a snicker, since she knew that he was only going to have one child, he was going to have _her_ , but she didn’t say anything.

“I try not to think about the future too much, it scares me,” Eleanor said quietly as he opens the door. Louis looked like he wanted to say something, but his thought was cut off by a loud screech from inside.

“LOOOOUUUUUUIIISSS!” two little girls ran up to Louis clinging to his legs. Eleanor had to stop her jaw from dropping because holy shit she was looking at eight year old versions of her Aunt Daisy and Aunt Phoebe. 

“Hey little munchkins!” he smiled, leaning down and tickling them, making them squeal with laughter. It was extremely cute if she had to say so herself. It was so obvious how much Louis loved his sisters. Eleanor knew he was fond of children anyway, though, because she’d seen the videos of her as a baby, and Louis was adorable when it came to giving her airplane rides and feeding her the choo choo train of food. 

“Whose this?” a voice came from the top of the stairs and Eleanor snapped her head upwards to see a fourteen year old Lottie there. Eleanor had to do a double take and had to remind herself not to freak out every time she saw the younger versions of people she knew. Lottie had her long blonde hair in a braid down her back, and her eyes were coated in black makeup, the way fourteen year olds do before they know how to apply it right. She still looked pretty, and Eleanor knew from stories that Lottie was quite the heart breaker when she got of age.

“Eleanor,” Louis said, his voice fond, “I um, accidentally hit her with my car.”

Lottie’s eyes widened comically. “Louis, you are insane,” she said, her voice disbelieving. 

“It’s true. I’m pretty sure I was in the air,” Eleanor laughed and Louis smiled at her, his eyes all crinkly again.

“Yeah, she maybe got about thirty feet. Surprised she didn’t get stuck up in one of the neighbor’s trees!”

“Louis, please tell me it’s not true,” Eleanor’s Grandma, Jay, materializes from the kitchen, her eyebrows pulled together.

“I… I didn’t mean to?” Louis tried, his head hanging low. Eleanor had to stifle a giggle; it was weird seeing her daddy get scolded by his mum, like he was a young kid.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, I’m Jay,” she smiled, walking over to Eleanor, “sorry for my son’s bad manners and driving skills.” Eleanor had never realized how pretty her grandma was, and this wasn’t even in her prime. Her gray hair was now a dark brown, her blue eyes mirroring Louis’, her face kind just like she remembered. 

“Hey! I didn’t just leave her there that counts!” Louis squawked indignantly.

“No, Lou, that’s just being a human,” Lottie rolled her eyes, brushing past Louis towards the kitchen.

“Teenagers,” Louis mouthed at Eleanor, rolling his eyes and sighing dramatically, and Eleanor giggled into her palm.

“So, are you joining us for dinner?” his mum asked, a genuine smile on her face. Eleanor paused; she didn’t think it was such a good idea. She still had no idea what this time period was like, only from the movies she watched with her dads, and she was seriously afraid of slipping up. 

“Er, I don’t think I can,” Eleanor bit her lip, noticing Louis’ face fell when she said that.

“Oh, no, I insist,” Jay said, “we made spaghetti!” And goddamnit Eleanor had a weakness for her Grandma’s spaghetti and Louis’ puppy dog face was making her all sad.

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” she finally said, giving Jay a smile, making Louis positively beam. Daisy and Phoebe squealed a little and Eleanor laughed, already feeling at home. Even though it was expected, because they were still the same people, just younger.

Eleanor followed them all into the familiar kitchen, almost just plopping down in a seat like she normally would, but then remembering that would be really rude. The kitchen looked the same as it always had with its ugly blue and white striped walls and a big rectangular brown table fit for eight. The wall was even still lined with school pictures, yet instead of her face being lined up there with her cousins, it was her daddy and her aunts. She noticed a not too flattering photo of Louis, his smile forced and his hair combed over, and Eleanor tried not to laugh at how uncomfortable he looked in the blue button up shirt.

“Here you go,” Louis said, snapping her out of her examination, pulling out one of the chairs which Eleanor gratefully accepted. It had been a long day, indeed. “You don’t need to look at those rubbish pictures. I swear they’re photo-shopped. I refuse to believe I can look that hideous.” Eleanor rolled her eyes and grinned before turning to Jay to start small talk.

“So, where are you from Eleanor?” Jay asked, scooping up some spaghetti and placing some on Eleanor’s dish. It was a little much, yet Eleanor didn’t want to be rude. She could force down a lot of food when she wanted, even if it was hard to believe with her skinny frame.

“Um… the next town over, actually. But I’m visiting…. Family,” she forced out, taking a huge bite of spaghetti, hoping to get out of more questions. She instantly regretted it, seeing as if she could barely chew. She saw Louis trying to stifle laughter next to her and she fought the urge to glare at him. 

“Oh! Do you go to school around here?”

Eleanor paused to chew, all eyes on her, and she could feel her cheeks heating up with her blush. “Sorry,” she said quickly after she swallowed, “um, no, I go to uni actually.” Technically, she wasn’t old enough for uni, but she’d be going in a year, and Eleanor knew she could pass for older. It felt cool to act older than seventeen, which is why she felt all smug when they believed her.

“Oh, so does Louis! What uni?” Jay said, smiling. Louis gave his mum an exasperated look that she promptly ignored, waiting for Eleanor’s answer. She really didn’t know what to do. She racked her head for possible answers, what answer could benefit her.

She knew the only way she could get back to the present was to find Zayn – he was her only hope, – and she knew that Louis and Harry met him at uni. So whatever uni Louis was at, Zayn was there… which meant that Eleanor needed to be there. She just hoped that nineteen year old Zayn was as smart as forty three year old Zayn. She racked her brain for what university Louis went to, probably taking an inappropriate time to answer, before she spotted a sweatshirt over the far railing that read “University of London” on it, and she remembered her daddy talking about all the football games he used to go to when he’d cheer on the team. He always warned him how much they sucked, but they all used to go to cheer Liam on. 

“London!” Eleanor exclaimed, a little too loudly, making everyone jump, “Ah, um, I mean I got to the University of London,” she cleared her throat awkwardly.  
“You do? How come I’ve never seen you there?” Louis asked, “I go there.”

“The campus is big, surely it wasn’t guaranteed you’d run in to me at some point or another,” Eleanor grinned at him, making him stick out his tongue at her.  
“I’m actually heading back tomorrow, because I have a huge exam I can’t miss… do you want to drive back with me? It’s the least I can do for hitting you with my car,” Louis suggested, taking a bite of his spaghetti. 

“Looouis, you’ve only just gotten here!” Daisy pouted, crossing her little arms over her chest and sticking her bottom lip out. She looked quite adorable with her blonde hair pulled up in a bun right on the top of her head. It was obvious Jay took a lot of time to make it really neat.

“I know button, but Louis has to go back, he just needed to pick a few things up here before going back,” Louis explained, reaching over to poke Daisy’s nose. Daisy’s pout washed away as she giggled, swatting Louis’ finger away. “So will you?” he turned to Eleanor, hopeful.

“Sure,” Eleanor shrugged; she knew she needed to get there, and she didn’t know the way. She remembered the time machine was here, but she really wanted to be with Louis. She didn’t know what would happen with them once they reached the university and she wanted to take advantage of the time she had with him. Her and Zayn could take the trip back down to Doncaster for the time machine – if she could find Zayn that is. 

“Alright then, mum we’re gonna get going, trying to beat the traffic and all,” Louis announced, pushing back from his chair and gesturing for Eleanor to do the same. 

“But Louis, we have dessert!” Jay frowned, her fork halfway to her mouth. Eleanor paused on her way up from her seat, not sure what to do. She glanced at Lottie, but Lottie just shrugged and shoved more spaghetti into her mouth. 

“Mum, I really think we should get going, I really need to study and all, I’m sorry,” Louis explained, walking over to Jay and kissing her on the head, “I’ll be back for spring holidays before you know it.”

“Okay, bye baby, drive safe,” Jay replies, touching his arm and smiling. 

“Don’t mourn me while I’m gone! Tell the neighbors I love and miss them and to not worry that their beloved Louis will be back soon!” Louis called dramatically as her grabbed his bag and headed towards the door.

“Bye everyone, thank you so much for the lovely dinner!” Eleanor said, getting up and following after Louis towards the foyer. She too late realized she didn’t clear her plate, but then Louis was dragging her out the door, her flip-flop almost tripping her up. With her long legs, you would think Eleanor would be graceful, but it actually led her to tripping over said legs more often than not.

He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing the fallen pieces out of his eyes. “Sorry about my mum,” he laughed, “you know how mums are though.” Eleanor gave a polite smile, because no, she actually _didn’t_ know how mums were, but she decided not to dwell on that detail.

She followed Louis to his beat up car she couldn’t put a name to for the life of her, but it was silver and had a dent in the bumper. “Okay, I see you judging me, but I swear I’m a good driver,” Louis said as he hopped into the front seat, and he gestured to another dent that Eleanor hadn’t noticed earlier, “that guy totally had it coming when he parked his car behind me. I mean okay, I should have looked before I backed out, but still.” Eleanor followed suit and climbed into the passenger seat, quickly strapping herself in. Louis may act like he was a good driver, but Eleanor knew her daddy; he actually sucked at driving, at that was at age forty four. She couldn’t fathom a relatively new driver Louis.

“That other dent, um, wasn’t from me, right?” Eleanor bit her lip as Louis started the car, the car humming a little as it came to life.

Louis barked out a loud laugh, covering his mouth with his hand. “No, no that was there, don’t worry Eleanor.” Eleanor laughed along with him out of relief, because she would have felt awful if she dented his car, beat up or not.

She took one last forlorn look at the house and the time machine, inwardly sighing. She really wanted to go home but she knew the only way to get out of this mess was to keep moving forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so hopefully this one is better than the first, as always feedback is appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know I keep saying they're gonna get longer and I promise they get so long it's gross but the first few chapters are gonna be like this in length so I apologize

“So, what are you studying in uni?” Louis asked, starting up the car, the air-conditioning whirring to life. It was a bit cold, goose bumps sprouted on Eleanor’s tan arms, but she didn’t say anything. There was a little pile of trash under her feet, but Eleanor wasn’t surprised; her daddy was extremely messy. She didn’t even dare to look in the back seat, knowing it would be even worse, because she knew the mess his room was back home. It used to be a bit neat when Harry actually slept home, since Harry was a bit of a neat freak, but lately no one was around to clean up Louis’ messes. The thought made Eleanor sad and she quickly shook it from her head, trying to focus on the conversation at hand.

Louis glanced at her, waiting for her answer, before looking in his review mirror as he backed out of the driveway.

“I’m studying law and business,” Eleanor replied, a little late. It wasn’t exactly a lie; she did want to study that, when she actually attended uni. “What about you?” 

“You can’t laugh,” Louis warned and Eleanor nodded, “I’m studying drama and music,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand that wasn’t on the wheel, “I really want to be a drama teacher.”

“What?” Eleanor blurted before she could stop herself, “but you’re an insurance agent!” She wished she could slap herself but opted for biting her lip and hoping he didn’t hear her outburst.

“What are you talking about? I would never be an insurance agent, that job is so boring and for boring people. Which I am not, clearly,” Louis snorted. But the fact was that he _was_ an insurance agent. Eleanor could always tell he didn’t love his job, but she didn’t suspect her daddy had other interests when he was younger.

“Why not?”

“I just… have you ever just listened to music and your problems faded away, or you’d go on stage, and you were a whole new person? It’s my favorite feeling in the world,” Louis smiled, “and I love kids. Of course they won’t be young kids, but I would love to share and teach something I’m so passionate about, you know?” Louis had this wistful look in her eye and Eleanor kind of wanted to cry. How could he have thrown his dreams away? _Why_ did he throw them away?

“Wow, da- I mean Louis that’s just… that’s so awesome that you’ve found something you’re so passionate about. I wish I did. I mean, law is fine, but I don’t know,” Eleanor admitted.

“You’ll find your way El, it took me a while to figure out mine, but I did,” Louis said, reassuringly. He reached over and placed his free hand on Eleanor’s, to which she pulled away a little too suddenly. Eleanor ignored the look of hurt that flashed across Louis’ face and awkwardly cleared her throat.

“So I have a confession,” she finally said, sneaking a glance at Louis, hoping she was forgiven for the hand thing. 

“Yeah?” he answered, turning on his blinker and looking out of the side mirror before switching lanes. 

“I don’t go to The University of London,” she admitted, Louis raising an eyebrow before she quickly finished, “I mean I do, but I used to go to a different uni… I actually just transferred to the University of London, so I’m new there.”

Louis smirked. “I knew I would have seen you around campus, especially someone as pretty as you. And I’m pretty observant. Okay, maybe not when I’m driving, but otherwise, my eyes are sharp.”

Eleanor blushed and shifted uncomfortably. She just wished she could yell at him to stop complimenting her because it was starting to freak her out and hello she was _his daughter,_ but she refrained. He would probably kick her out of his car or send her to a mental ward or something.

“So I’m guessing you’re asking me to help with my expertise and show you all around the glorious campus, am I right?” Louis teased.

“Something like that,” Eleanor grinned back. They sat in comfortable silence for a bit, Eleanor looking out the window, watching the world blur by, a lot different than the world she lived in now. She wondered if life was still going on in the present, or if it had somehow paused with her not in it. But of course it wouldn’t; the world didn’t revolve around Eleanor. Actually, Eleanor quite frankly had no clue how this time machine crap even worked, so she decided not to think about it. That thinking was meant for Zayn. Speaking of Zayn…

“Hey Lou, do you know Zayn Malik?” Eleanor asked, the nickname for her father sliding out of her mouth before she could stop it. 

Louis didn’t mention it though. He furrowed his eyebrows, eyes still on the road, “um, no. Should I?”

Eleanor wanted to laugh. This was so weird… Louis didn’t even know who Zayn was yet. One of his lifelong friends. “No, I was just wondering. He’s my, um, cousin and he goes to the University of London.” Shit, but Zayn and Eleanor were not even the same race; they didn’t look like cousins at all. “I mean, um, step cousin.”

Louis was suppressing a laugh at Eleanor’s babbling, she could tell, but she just scrunched her nose up in annoyance and crossed her arms, looking out the window again. She could see Louis reaching for the radio in her peripheral vision, yet she still looked out the window. Everything she did was somehow amusing to Louis. 

The first notes of a techno sounding song comes out of the speakers and Eleanor raised an eyebrow at Louis. She didn’t recognize the song, but Louis seems to be enjoying it, bobbing his head up and down, a smile on his face.

“Come on, you have to know Safety Dance!” he exclaimed, turning it louder. 

“I’m sorry?” Eleanor laughed as Louis started to sing along.

“We can dance if we want to, you can leave your friends behind! And if your friends don’t dance then they’re no friends of mine!” he screeched, and even though he was faking the bad singing, Eleanor could tell that Louis actually didn’t have that bad of a singing voice. Also coupled in with the fact she’s caught him singing into a spatula while flipping pancakes and doing some weird Michael Jackson impersonation on more than one account, she would say her judgment was correct.

“How _old_ is this song?” Eleanor scoffed. She had to admit it was kind of catchy.

“It came out in the eighties! My mum used to play it around the house when I was younger and I would dance around with my pants on my head to this,” Louis explained, “I can’t believe you’ve never heard it!” It came out in the eighties? Gosh the song was over fifty years old.

“Pants on your head?” Eleanor laughed, raising her eyebrows.

“Hey, I was a cool kid! I set all the trends in the neighborhood I’ll have you know!”

As the song progressed, Eleanor could admit her foot started to tap along with it. By the end, both of them were belting out the words at the top of their lungs. Eleanor couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so hard.

“Oh, well here we are!” Louis announced as he drove onto the gravel driveway up to the colossal building. Eleanor’s eyes widened. She had heard of the university, but she never saw it, but to say that she couldn’t even imagine it would have been an understatement. The orangey-brown building was covered in windows outlined in white, arches and old architecture evident in the intricate design of the building. Eleanor really didn’t even know how to describe it. The campus surrounding it had students lazy around on blankets, talking or studying, or students milling about, laughing or holding hands.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Louis grinned and Eleanor nodded, her hands sweaty. She’d never actually been to uni, so she was a bit nervous. “Where are your bags? Please don’t tell me we left them in your car,” Louis asked, his blue eyes wide.

“No, don’t worry,” Eleanor smiled, “my mum was transferring it over from my house.” She honestly had no idea if they could actually do that, but Louis shrugged and grabbed the bag he brought from his mum’s house. 

“Alright, let me show you around then,” Louis suggested, hiking the bag up on his shoulder. It was open a bit at the top, and Eleanor wouldn’t be surprised if something fell out, but she didn’t say anything and instead followed Louis up the hill towards the dorms. “I’m going to run this up to my room real quick, I’ll be back in a few minutes. Stay here, okay?” Louis told her, holding up his forefinger and disappearing through the door that led to the stairway.

Eleanor sighed, wondering how long Louis would really take. Knowing him, he would get sidetracked and not come down for an hour. She leaned against the wall, just watching the people hurrying to their dorms or talking a bit, when she saw someone tripping out of the corner of her eye, their books and papers flying everywhere. Eleanor gasped and jogged over to the stranger, her flip-flops clacking on the linoleum floor, their face still concealed as they scrambled to pick up their notes and papers. She could tell he was a boy but she didn’t register much else as she ran over.

Eleanor bent down next to him, grabbing a few scraps to help him, when his large pale hand came down on top of hers, stopping her. “I got it,” he said, his voice husky and deep, a voice that made Eleanor freeze. That voice. Eleanor would know that voice anywhere. She looked up to see a pair of piercing emerald eyes staring into hers, but they were concealed behind thick-rimmed black, hipster looking glasses. 

“Harry,” she breathed, unable to stop herself. She was just glad that “dad” didn’t come out instead. She noticed his face was still a bit flushed from the embarrassment of the fall. Why were her dads so good looking when they were younger? It was freaking her out. 

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Harry asked, standing up from his crouched position, fixing the beanie on top of his head, a few loose curls poking out of the sides.

“No, I, uh, just recognized you,” Eleanor said dumbly, standing up as well. She didn’t have any other excuse.

“From where?” he asked, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. As if by some miracle, that was when Louis materialized out of nowhere, his blue bag now gone.

“Sorry, El, didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” he said, completely ignoring Harry’s presence. On the other hand, Harry had frozen up, hitching in a startled breath and his eyes widening, staring at Louis. Eleanor gave him a curious look before Louis nudged her.

“Let’s get going, okay? We have people to meet, places to go, come on El step up your game!” he exclaimed, grabbing her wrist and hauling her towards the door that led to campus. Harry was still frozen, his eyes flickering over every inch of Louis.

“Bye Harry!” Eleanor feebly called out, still confused by everything that was going on. He snapped out of his stance and blushed, looking down. His feet were set at an awkward pigeon toed stance that was really endearing, his shoulders hunched in a self-conscious way, and Eleanor could tell that her dad was really shy at this age. It was weird because now he was always so loud and cheeky all the time; she was just hoping that he would be like that if he came out of his shell.

“Um, bye, uh…” he stuttered out, prompting her for her name.

“Eleanor!” she smiled, right as Louis pulled her outside. The big metal doors shut behind her, making a loud bang. She yanked her arm free of his iron grasp and glared at him.

“What?” he asked, frowning.

“That was rude,” she said, crossing her arms, “first completely ignoring Harry, and then hauling my arse out here like I have no free will?”

“I… um, sorry? I don’t even know Harry,” Louis said.

“Yeah, it’s still the polite thing to do. You know, say hello or something?” Eleanor countered, waving her hands around, frustrated.

“You’re cute when you’re frustrated,” Louis said instead, grinning, making Eleanor groan in frustration. By this point, she was pretty sure that her daddy had not figured out he was gay yet, considering all the flirtatious things he was saying to Eleanor. Which was unbelievably gross. “Look, I’m sorry, next time I’ll say hi to that Harry fellow. But he didn’t say hi to me either, now did he? Hmm?” Louis challenged, nudging her shoulder with his, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He had a point so Eleanor just huffed and glared at him.

“Ugh, just, come on, let’s go meet your friends or whatever,” Eleanor ignored his compliment once again, gesturing for Louis to lead the way. Louis shook his head and chuckled, but obeyed as he headed over towards a clearing of brown picnic benches. They looked pretty old and chipped, and Eleanor feared she’d get a splinter if she sat on one. She noticed a lot of carvings in it, with names and hearts and dates, students forever marking themselves as a part of the school.

“This is where we always hang out, my friends and I,” Louis explained as they approached the tables. There were a few people perched around them, laughing and talking, one blonde guy with a guitar. “This or the little coffee shop right off campus. The owners are super nice and it rains a lot so it’s nice for a backup. And when I say it rains a lot I mean every fucking day.” 

Eleanor nodded as she processed this information, wishing she had been wearing nicer clothing. Not that she would ever see these people again, but still – Eleanor didn’t know how long she was going to be in this time period. Her thong was already halfway up her butt, and the ratty bra she was wearing did not enhance her boobs whatsoever.

“Hey guys!” Louis chirped and everyone looked up at his cheerful greeting, “this is Eleanor. Be nice to her or you might get your head ripped off. By me.”

Eleanor tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, offering a shy smile, “Hi guys.”

“Hi Eleanor, I’m Niall,” the blonde guy said, and oh yes how could Eleanor had missed that the guy was Niall when she saw him playing guitar? Niall looked the same, a little slighter; a green snapback was perched on his head, a few stray blonde wisps poking out. 

“I’m Perrie,” a pretty girl with dyed pink hair Eleanor didn’t recognize smiled at her. Eleanor instantly liked her; she seemed friendly and bubbly, just her type of girl.

“I’m Liam,” a guy with brown hair buzzed on his head said, and Eleanor instantly recognized him. Just because she wasn’t as close with these two as she was with Zayn didn’t mean she wasn’t close with them, so it was so weird seeing them young. Almost as weird as seeing her dads young. _Almost._

So Louis, Liam, and Niall were friends first, and apparently Harry didn’t know any of them, let alone was _friends_ with them. And, just her luck, Zayn was nowhere to be found. Perfect.

“I’m Stan,” one of the guys smirked, holding his hand out for Eleanor to shake. It was a bit sweaty, but Eleanor didn’t cringe like she wanted to out of politeness. She didn’t like the vibe Stan gave, especially the way he chewed his gum all obnoxious, and the way he was standing in a confident way, one leg perched on the picnic table. She’d never met Stan in her time, but she was glad her dads didn’t stay friends with him.

A few more people introduced themselves but Eleanor was barely listening as she sorted out her thoughts. She was going to head over to the English wing first to see if Zayn was present, and if he wasn’t there, she would check the art wing. Even though Zayn liked to invent things, Eleanor knew he had a thing for drawing as well, so she knew it couldn’t hurt. 

“So, how’d you two meet?” Niall asked, giving Louis a private look that Eleanor didn’t understand.

“I, um, hit her with my car,” Louis explained with a sigh, knowing that criticisms would come his way, “I know, I know, I suck, I’ve already heard it.”

Liam’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, whereas Niall burst out laughing, so hard that his face was turning red. “You… what?” he gasped, his laugh sounding a bit like a hyena’s laugh would sound. 

“It was an accident!” Louis whined, pouting. 

“It’s a shame it was Lou you’re stuck with now,” Niall smirked, “all he is is a big ball of energy that thinks his jokes are funny, when they’re not.”

Louis’ jaw dropped in protest, “you laugh at all of them though!”

“Someone has to,” Perrie snorted, shoving him lightly. Louis shoved her back, making her black fedora fall off of her head and she playfully glared at him, before snatching it off the ground. Eleanor thought Perrie’s taste in clothes was a bit odd, but she liked them. She was even a bit jealous; if she tried to pull off a black fedora and high-waisted ripped shorts she would look really dumb.

“I don’t know why I’m friends with you lot, all you do is make fun of me,” Louis sniffed, crossing his arms. Eleanor felt as if she should join in the conversation, but right then was when she noticed Zayn walking over to a nearby tree, plopping down under the shade. He sifted through his bag and pulled out a book, looking content. She envied how relaxed he looked, when in her position, Eleanor was still bewildered and freaking the hell out, but she pushed that thought aside with the fact that Zayn was in front of her.

“Holy… _shit!_ ” Eleanor exclaimed before she could help herself, everyone looking at her weird, “I, um, have to go, it was nice seeing you guys and you too Louis alright bye!” She realized a little too late she should have gotten contact information with Louis in case she needed him, but her legs were already taking her towards Zayn at a fast pace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for still reading I'm gonna do these sappy notes the whole story so prepare!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate the feedback I'm already getting thank you all so much :-)

“Zayn!” she almost cried, her eyes filling with water. The relief that hit her was almost overwhelming because she knew without Zayn, there was no way she was getting home and getting her life back. She would lose Bobby and Cher and her dads. Yes, they would be here, but they wouldn’t really be her dads, they would just be Louis and Harry and Eleanor really couldn’t deal with that. They both meant way too much to her.

Zayn jumped about ten feet in the air, his book falling into his lap, his eyes wide. “I…um, hi?” He looked at her through his eyelashes and holy shit Eleanor couldn’t take any more surprises because Zayn was sort of beautiful.

“Hi, I’m sorry for barging in on you like this,” Eleanor said quickly, “I just, I need your help.”

“And what can I do to help?” Zayn asked, his brow raising. Eleanor looked around, noticing that Louis and his friends were giving her confused looks even though hello, she told Louis that Zayn was her step cousin, what did he expect?

She picked at a thread on her v-neck, “Can we go somewhere else? I have to explain something to you and it’s kind of crazy, but I need you to believe me Zayn, _please.”_

Zayn looked skeptical, but he eventually sighed and threw his book into his brown messenger bag. “Where to?”

“You know this place better than me,” Eleanor shrugged, “want to just go back to your room?”

Zayn gave her a look and she almost punched him. He was the same old cheeky Zayn. “Not like that!” she laughed, and he cracked a smile, “we just need somewhere private. And you might actually freak out, so.” Zayn gave her a concerned glance, hoisting himself off of the ground and wiping the grass off of his ripped jeans.

“You’re really worrying me here, not making me feel any better,” Zayn said, walking towards the building. 

“Don’t worry, it’s not bad. I mean, not bad for you, bad for me. It could actually be good for you because you should be proud of you work and – oh shit I’m babbling aren’t I?” Eleanor rambled until Zayn cut her off with an amused look. 

“Right, sorry,” Eleanor cleared her throat, heading into the stairwell that lead to the dorms. It had really florescent lights and blue stairs, which Eleanor found odd, but what was worse was that the staircase stretched up for a long time. Sighing, she headed up, Zayn trailing behind her.

“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing?” Zayn called, his large sneakers making a loud clomping noise behind him. 

“Not until we’re in your room,” Eleanor said over her shoulder, “which you should lead me to by the way. These dorms are awfully confusing.”

Zayn smiled at her before walking ahead of her, leading her down a long hallway. It was noisy in the hallway, distant sounds of muffled music, laughter, and talking from each of the rooms, and Eleanor grinned, knowing she would be in their shoes in just a year. If she ever got home that is.

The stopped in front of a door marked 8A before Zayn got his room key out and slipped in. Eleanor trailed behind, taking in the room as she stepped in. It was messy, which was expected, because Zayn was one of the messiest people she knew, aside from Louis. Clothes were strewn everywhere, as well as some stray paint bottles, paper and books on every surface, his bed a mess of tangled sheets and clothes. To her surprise, it wasn’t that small; in fact, it had another door that was cracked open to reveal a bathroom. She didn’t even know dorms could have bathrooms… isn’t that what the one on the floor is for?

“Er, sorry for the mess,” Zayn said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“S’okay,” Eleanor grinned, “remind me to take a shower when this is over, though,” she teased and Zayn blushed.

“Right, okay, what do you want to talk to me about?” he asked, shoving some of the clothes off of the bed to make room for himself. Once he was situated, he patted the space next to him, gesturing for her to sit down.

“Um,” Eleanor paused, not knowing even where to begin. The whole situation was downright crazy, so crazy in fact, that she still had trouble wrapping her head around it herself. And here she was to try and explain it to a stranger, rather, someone she knew in an _older_ form. “You like science, right?” is what she brilliantly came up with, and Zayn cocked a dark eyebrow at her.

“Yeah, it’s cool I guess. I like English and art more, though,” Zayn told her to humor her, “why do you ask?”

“Okay, um, well, I’m Eleanor Styles-Tomlinson, to start,” she introduced herself, ignoring his question, still not sure how to put her jumbled thoughts into words.

“Okay, and I’m Zayn Malik, but apparently you know that, which I still don’t know as to why,” Zayn said, looking at her like she was crazy.

“Right,” Eleanor looked at her hands, “you know Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles, right?”

Zayn nodded. “I mean, I’m not friends with Louis, quite frankly I’ve never even talked to the bloke, but everyone knows of Louis, and well, Harry’s nice, only talked to him once or twice. He’s in my lit class. Smart guy. I think Louis’ in that class too.”

Eleanor smiled, because yes, her dad was smart, but she didn’t comment. “Well, I’m their daughter,” Eleanor said, not sure else how to put it. She let the words sink in, Zayn just staring at her, his eyebrows pulled together.

“Is this a joke?”

“I wish it was.”

Zayn stared at her for a minute, annoyance flashing across his face. “First off, Louis is straight. Second, Louis doesn’t associate with people like Harry. He’s nice and outgoing so he’d talk to Harry, but not date him, because he’s Louis, life of the party. And third, you’re about what, eighteen? So what the actual fuck,” Zayn finally replied, crossing his arms, “if you’re trying to be funny, you’re not. I have a literature assignment due tomorrow that I was working on and now you’re wasting my time, so please kindly get out of my room.”

Eleanor’s jaw dropped. She loved Zayn but wow he was harsh. But she couldn’t blame him. Coming from his point of view, Eleanor probably would have called the police by now.

“No please, Zayn, I’m not joking. You see, you’re best friends with Louis and Harry, and they’re married and I’m their daughter and I know all this because of _you_. You invented a time machine in the year 2036 and while you were showing me, I accidentally pressed the button to go to 2013 and now here we are. And I’m stuck because my dads don’t even know each other at this point and you’re my only hope because I need to get back to my friends and family.” She took a deep breath after that, trying to catch it, all of the words flying out of her mouth quickly.

There was silence after that. Eleanor closed her eyes in the process of her speech, both of them squeezed tight, as well has her fists. She couldn’t bear the thought of opening her eyes at the moment; she was sure she didn’t want to Zayn’s reaction. She finally popped one eye open hesitantly, then the other. Zayn was looking at her with his jaw down.

“I… I made a time machine?” he asked. At least he wasn’t throwing her out; the fact that Zayn was actually thinking about what she said and not branding her crazy right away made Eleanor have hope.

“Yes,” Eleanor nodded vigorously, “I know the Zayn that is forty three. He has a little bit of gray hair sprouting in the quiff of his no matter how much he denies it, and he is very into science and loves his best friends very much.”

“What about a wife?” he asked, then he looked like he regretted asking it, as if asking the question deemed that he believed Eleanor. He still looked like a lost little puppy, not sure of the information that Eleanor was telling him was remotely true.

“Um, no wife, but he’s still happy,” Eleanor lied quickly. As much as Zayn tried to cover it up, she knew that often times he got lonely in that garage of his, only his dog to keep him company. Although, I guess it is better than a crippling marriage, like in Louis and Harry’s case. Eleanor sighed, thinking of her dads, not even knowing each other at this point. She was still curious as to why Harry had acted so weird when Louis showed up when she met him, but she decided to think about it later. 

“Oh,” Zayn frowned, “well, how do I know you’re not just fucking with me, if I say so rather bluntly?” He crossed his arms, the bulge of his arm muscle coming out, and Eleanor gulped. She kept reminding herself to think of older Zayn to get her mind off of the hot one in front of her. 

“Um, quiz me?” Eleanor said, hoping that it will be enough and that he won’t just deem her as a stalker instead.

“What’s my favorite color?”

“Green,” she replied immediately, mentally patting herself on the back. She hoped the questions would stay this easy.

“What’s my middle name?” he quickly fired back.

“Jawadd,” she said, her palms sweaty. She wiped them on the back of her leggings, not sure of what to do with her hands, so she opted to folding them across her chest.

Zayn sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Jesus, I don’t even know, this is all so fucking crazy, I just… can you just go? I’m freaking out and I just want to forget this all happened. I don’t even want to believe you right now, I don’t even think I do, just please go,” he said softly, his eyes confused. 

“Zayn, you have to believe me,” Eleanor pleaded, her voice cracking, “you’re my only hope. I can show you the machine, if you’d like.”

Zayn stared at the wall a minute, gathering his thoughts. “Jesus,” he breathed, an incredulous laugh bursting out of him, “a time machine. A fucking time machine.”

“Is that a yes?” Eleanor asked, a little smile playing on her lips. She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping that Zayn would finally give her a chance.

Zayn took a shaky breath. “It’s a yes, just… let me get my coat, yeah?” he gave her a weak smile, pushing himself off the bed and walking over to the closet to grab his leather jacket. Eleanor resisted the urge to squeal, or worse, do a little happy dance in the middle of the dorm, so instead she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Zayn’s waist.

“Whoa there,” he chuckled, awkwardly patting her on the head.

“Thank you, seriously Zayn you’re an angel, a saint, a…. a god!” Eleanor praised him, her voice muffled by his t-shirt.

“Yeah, yeah, not just yet,” Zayn lightly pushed her off, but Eleanor caught the light pink dusting his cheeks at her comments. “So, um, where is it?”

Eleanor blanched. “Oh, it’s in Doncaster, at Louis’ house…” she admitted, looking at her flip-flops. 

“That’s a bit far isn’t it?” Zayn questioned and Eleanor’s heart sank. If Zayn said no now, she didn’t want to think about being stuck in 2013.

“I…”

“Good thing I have a lot of gas,” Zayn smiled at her, shrugging on the jacket over his black t-shirt that had some band that Eleanor didn’t recognize. Eleanor felt her whole face light up, and she’d deny it if Zayn mentioned it, but she had tears welling in her eyes too, of relief. 

She followed him out into the hallway; smiling at people as she walked, a little more bounce in her step. She probably looked like an idiot, but she didn’t care. She just hoped that Zayn could be able to come up with a plan that fueled the time machine. 

As they walked across the lawn, Eleanor noticed Louis and his friends were still at the bench, and she tried hard not to draw attention to herself.

“Hide me Zayn,” she squeaked, clinging onto Zayn’s arm and burying her head into his shoulder. With this position, the walking was awkward, and Eleanor’s long legs got tangled in Zayns, making him stumble. 

“Eleanor! This is worse!” he laughed, gripping onto her arms to keep her from falling completely. Eleanor laughed along, her bell-like laugh tinkling as she regained her balance. She glanced up and thankfully, Louis was in the middle of telling an elaborate story, using a lot of hand gestures, to notice the two of them slink by. 

“God, it’s so weird seeing him at such a young age,” Eleanor murmured as they reached a car. The car was a sleek black, only a few nicks and dirt, but otherwise, the thing looked expensive. Eleanor tried not to stare; compared to Zayn’s car, Louis’ was a piece of junk. 

“Who, Louis?” Zayn brought her back from her gawking at his car. He seemed as if he noticed, because he had a little satisfied smirk on his face as he slipped into the driver’s seat. Bastard. 

“Yeah,” Eleanor replied, plopping down on the black leather seats. The inside of the car was surprisingly neat for a young guy, especially in contrast to the disarray Zayn’s dorm room was. She liked the collection of tree-shaped car fresheners hanging on the review mirror, a variety of scents and colors that made the car smell fruity. 

Zayn hummed in agreement as he backed out of the parking lot, turning on soft music in the background. She vaguely recognized it as some rap song, but she couldn’t put a finger on the exact song: something about drugs and women. She knew that Cher liked blaring old rap music; actually, Cher listened to any type of rap, but it personally gave Eleanor a headache. She was more of a pop girl, no matter how embarrassed she was at how into the mainstream pop songs on the radio she gets. 

“What’s Louis’ address?”

“Um, 304 Parkway Road,” Eleanor replied. Zayn nodded as he typed in the address into the GPS, one that looked a lot less high-tech than the one Eleanor had in her car, but she didn’t comment. 

“So, because I’m doing you a major favor, right now you’re going to explain how everything works with this whole time traveling thing,” Zayn told her, one hand coming off the wheel to wave his hand around a bit in a non-committal gesture, as if the whole concept wasn’t a big deal to him.

“Okay, well, I was upset, because Harry was sleeping at Aunt Gemma’s again,” she starts, not caring how personal she gets, because no matter how old he was, this guy was still Zayn, “and I called you and you told me to come over because you had a surprise. When I got there, you showed me the time machine and inside, there were some dials to put the specific time you wanted to travel to and such. I was playing around with it, put it in 2013, when Niall and Liam came to your door to make you play football with them, and I accidentally pressed a wrong button and bam! I was in 2013.”

Zayn’s quiet for a moment, processing the information, the only sound the soft beat of the new rap song the radio flicked over to. “Okay, so I’m good friends with Niall Horan and Liam Payne in the future? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yeah, and obviously Harry and Louis,” Eleanor nods, kicking off her flip-flops. They were starting to hurt her feet. She wouldn’t be surprised if a blister was formed there tomorrow.

“That’s weird,” Zayn breathed, “I want to know everything about the future. It sucks you can’t tell me.”

“Why not?” Eleanor frowned, bringing one of her feet up to massage it. 

Zayn’s eyes flickered to her foot, but he didn’t say anything about it, “it’s really dangerous. Anything you tell me can alter the future drastically.”

“Oh, because then you would have the power to change it and such, right?” Eleanor mused.

“Exactly,” Zayn said, “now, do you know how I got the time machine to even work?”

Eleanor tapped her chin. “Oh! Electraform,” she stated, proud of herself for remembering.

“Electra-what?” Zayn asked, confusion washing over his face.

“It’s electricity and chloroform put together. They originally made it for some pesticide shit or something, but it didn’t exactly work, because it was starting to kill the plants as well. But apparently it runs time machines,” Eleanor snorted.

“God, we don’t have that here,” Zayn sighed, his shoulder slumping a bit, “you’re expecting me to be some genius, and I mean I guess forty three year old Zayn is, but this Zayn just likes to sit around and paint and listen to music and read thick books that no one else picks up. I’m not the guy you’re looking for Eleanor, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”  
Eleanor felt her heart fly to her throat, panic settling in. “Zayn, no you have to help me!”

He looked over at her change of tone and his face softened at the panicked expression she wore. She could only guess how her face looked; her brown eyes wide and her already pale skin whiter, her mouth a frightened grimace. 

“I… god Eleanor you make it hard to say no,” Zayn sighed, “fine. I’ll try. No promises you’ll get home though, okay?”

“Okay, okay,” Eleanor nodded, settling back into the seat. She didn’t even realize she was clutching the sides of the leather so hard that her knuckles were turning white.

“One question,” Zayn asked to break the silence, his lips pursed, “am I still hot when I’m forty three?”

Eleanor burst out laughing, not expecting him to say this, and he grinned at her to show he was kidding. “Nope,” she replied, popping the ‘p’, “just hot _headed_.” 

Zayn stuck his tongue out at her, but his eyes were still sparkling with amusement. “For real though, what happened before you met up with me? I need to make sure nothing too drastic happened.”

Eleanor sighed, thinking back throughout the long day that wasn’t even over yet, busy looking out the window. She watched the city blur into a more suburban area, trees now in sight and sprawling houses. Eleanor wished it was fall here; it was her favorite season, with the pretty oranges and browns and reds scattered throughout the trees. She looked down at her bare arms and took back that thought . . . maybe it was better that it was spring, or else Eleanor would be freezing to her bones. 

She looked up and remembered Zayn asked her a question. “Um, for starters Louis hit me with his car.”

“Wait…” Zayn’s eyes widened and he turned to her as they reached a red light, “you mean you’ve been in contact with them? You’ve talked to Louis?”

Eleanor bit her lip, hoping this wasn’t a bad thing. “Um, yes? Is that bad?”

Zayn banged his head against the steering wheel. “Yes that’s _bad!_ Eleanor, you didn’t exist in the original 2013! You’re not supposed to interact with anyone! You can alter the future drastically!” he groaned.

Eleanor’s stomach flipped in nerves. “How can I fix it? Do I just avoid them? I mean I’ve even accidentally bumped into Harry.”

“Harry too? Christ,” Zayn cursed. “Tell me everything that’s happened since you got here.”

Eleanor wracked her brain. “Well, Louis hit me with his car. And then we had dinner with his family, which I guess is still technically my family. Then we drove down to the uni together, then I bumped into Harry, then I met Niall, Liam, and Perrie, and then I saw you and yeah.” She said all in one breath. She thought about her list and didn’t see anything too drastic about it.

“Anything else? Don’t spare the details I need to know,” Zayn pressed as they passed a huge pink sign that read, “WELCOME TO DONCASTER.”

“Er, well I noticed Louis keeps flirting with me and it’s really weird. Also, when I bumped into Harry, Louis came back downstairs and Harry got really, really flustered. Niall, Liam, and Perrie like to tease Louis too. I can’t really think of anything else.”

“Louis keeps flirting with you?” Zayn’s voice went up an octave, “shit, Eleanor, what if he develops a crush on you? What if he already had? Then he can mess up the timing when he’s supposed to get with Harry and Harry might find someone else in that span of time and… oh god this is _bad_.” 

“W-what happens if they don’t get together?” Eleanor asked, her voice trembling. She couldn’t imagine being responsible for her dads not even getting together; it would break her heart, seeing as she loved them very much, even if they didn’t love each other very much at the moment.

“Other than the fact that your dads won’t be together which is bad enough? Eleanor… if they don’t get together, you won’t exist.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we got good old Zaynie on her side. Just used the summary quotes at the end there ha ha ha


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be updating a lot cause I already have the whole fic written so you don't have to wait long btw!

Eleanor’s heart fell down to her stomach at his words. She didn’t even think about _that._ “Oh my god.”

Zayn nods. “Exactly.”

“Okay, well daddy, I mean, er, Louis told me they got together at a party, but I don’t know which one… I don’t even know if it happened already and I screwed everything up,” Eleanor hung her head.

“Well, you’ve only been here a day, and they still don’t know each other, so I’m sure the part hasn’t happened yet,” Zayn said comfortingly. “I’m not sure if Louis has a crush on you or not, because clearly he doesn’t know he’s gay yet,” Zayn rolled his eyes, “but if he does or doesn’t, you’ve still came into his life and might have messed up a few things inadvertently. Like Harry probably wasn’t supposed to meet Louis that early or something.”

“Oh my god,” Eleanor suddenly felt sick, “I just realized I screwed up. Big time.”

“Spill,” Zayn ordered, “shit Eleanor you’re pale, do you want me to pull over?” Eleanor did feel light headed and a bit nauseas, but she forced the tears out of her eyes. The last time she felt this bad was when Cher forced her to take six tequila shots in a row and her head was spinning the whole way home. She ended up vomited the rest of the night once she got home, but that’s beside the point.

“Zayn,” she croaked, “Harry and Louis were supposed to meet when Harry dropped his books! Harry always told me that the two of them met when Harry dropped his books everywhere and Louis came down and helped him pick everything up! I messed everything up because I helped Harry pick up his books and Louis didn’t give him a second glance! It was supposed to be Louis!” Eleanor’s voice edged towards hysterical at the end.

“Oh shit,” Zayn muttered.

“ _Yeah_ oh shit!” Eleanor repeated, frustrated, “how could I forget? They’ve always told me the story! Harry would always joke about his two left feet help him find the love of his life!  
Hell, Liam and Niall told me the story a thousand times, too!”

“Hey I have a plan,” Zayn said, snapping his fingers.

“Yes?” Eleanor snapped her head towards him so fast she’s surprised her neck didn’t snap. She’s sure her eyes were wide and maybe deranged looking, but at that point she didn’t really care.

“Okay, so I’m going to be in charge of getting the time machine to work, right? Well, meanwhile, you’re going to keep a close eye on both of them. I know you’re friends with Louis already but befriend Harry, even if it’s hard, because the kid is shy. I’m pretty sure his only friend is that red-headed boy Ed he hangs out with. No matter what, you have to get Harry and Louis at that party, and force them together. It wouldn’t hurt to even have Harry in Louis’ sight before then, too, so maybe Louis can have his man parts tingling at Harry beforehand to spark the fire.”

“Ew, please don’t talk about my daddy’s man parts,” Eleanor shuddered, “but yeah, I think that’s possible. I remember Harry saying something about them being friends with each other beforehand, not like super close, but they were partners for some project or something. So I mean at least we know they’ll work on the project even if Louis didn’t pick up Harry’s books, I just hope that somehow didn’t screw everything up. The future’s fragile I’m guessing,” she mused, his brow deep in thought.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Zayn smiled, “I’m sure you can do it Eleanor. And you know, I’m just a phone call away if you need me. Actually, you don’t have my number. Hand me your phone.”

Eleanor patted her legs before she realized she was wearing leggings. “Shit, it’s in the time machine! Well, we’re actually almost there so just remind me.”

Zayn hummed a response as he turned onto Louis’ street, as the voice on the GPS instructed in a robotic voice. 

“Park a few houses down. I don’t want my grandmum to come out and recognize me,” she told him as they headed towards Louis’ driveway. Zayn did as he was told and parked in front of the blue house a few houses down from Louis’. 

They both got out and headed towards the purple vehicle, Zayn biting his lip, looking nervous and excited at the same time. 

“And ta-da!” Eleanor exclaimed, thrusting her arms out dramatically to display the time machine, “beautiful, ain’t it?”

Zayn’s mouth popped open. “Wow,” he breathed, rubbing his hands down the shiny side. He opened the door and slid in, looking around in amazement, playing with the buttons to change the time periods displayed in red numbers. “Okay, I believe you now,” he said in a weak voice, running his fingers over the leather bound seats. 

Eleanor smiled, leaning against the doorway to the machine. “It’s incredible, isn’t it? You’re incredible, since you made it, actually.”

Zayn blushed. “I don’t even remember making it obviously,” he smiled, “but wow, forty three year old Zayn has way too much time on his hands.”

Eleanor laughed at that. “This is true. But older Zayn actually lied to me, now that I think about it. He told me he sent his dog here as a test run, but if that were true the machine would have been here the whole time, not in the garage while I was there. Sneaky bastard.”

“I don’t really know what you’re saying, but it’s okay, because wow okay I’m so proud of myself, I’m speechless,” he said, “man fuck English. I love science!”

Eleanor laughed again. “We should probably get back. It’s gonna be dark soon,” she reminded him, “you drive your car, I’ll drive this thing back.”

Zayn paused. “Are you a good driver?”

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “I think so. Why?”

“I, er,” he bit his lip, “I kind of don’t want everything to be ruined by you ruining it in an accident or something. Want me to drive it?” Eleanor was about to argue, since she noticed on the way that Zayn drove a bit fast, but she decided not to say anything. She could tell he wanted to admire his work more.

“Sure, as long as you trust me with your car,” she shrugged, hooking a thumb at Zayn’s car down the road. 

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead,” Zayn murmured, distracted, and Eleanor sighed, trudging back towards Zayn’s car.

 

-

 

“Do you even have a dorm room to sleep in, or clothes?” Zayn asked Eleanor as the two of them sat on his bed, watching the tiny tv on Zayn’s dresser. They decided to put their plans on hold for tomorrow, since by time they got back to the university, it was dark. 

“Er, no,” Eleanor admitted sheepishly. 

“You can stay here,” Zayn offered, “I got really lucky because my roommate in the middle of the year got really homesick or something, he had like a mental breakdown and went home. So I don’t have a roommate. I can give you pajamas, aka my baggy t-shirts, but I’m sorry I don’t have girl clothes lying around in my closet.”

Eleanor laughed. “I’d hope not! Unless they were a girlfriend’s,” Eleanor nudged him while Zayn blushed and looked away.

“No girlfriend,” he mumbled, mostly to himself.

“Come on, there has to be someone you’re interested in!” Eleanor pressed, bouncing on the bed a little with her butt. Zayn blushed harder.

“Nope, no one, let’s get back to your living arrangements, shall we?” he said quickly, not looking her in the eye.

“Pleeeease Zayn, who am I going to tell? I won’t even know her considering I’m not from this time period, in case you’ve forgotten,” she smirked at him, “I just want to know what she’s like!”

“You could tell her! I mean you’ve already mentioned you’ve met her –“ Zayn cut himself off, his eyes widening, “god, forget I said anything!” Eleanor racked her brain for any girls she met today, and the only one was Perrie, the girl with the trendy clothes and nice smile. 

“Perrie! You like Perrie don’t you?” Eleanor exclaimed, clapping delightedly, making Zayn the color of his red comforter. 

“God, please stop, it’s embarrassing! She’s so out of my league, all outgoing and beautiful, and I’m quiet, smart, _awkward_ Zayn,” he groaned, burying his head in his pillow.

“That isn’t true! I mean she is all those things, god have you seen her legs? But, er, I mean, Zayn have you seen yourself? Any girl would fall over herself if they knew you were interested! Plus, girls like smart guys, it’s sexy,” Eleanor explained, grimacing when she thought of Bobby and how he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but she shook the thought from her mind. 

“Ugh, can we please drop this?” Zayn begged, blushing so hard there were blotches of red on his neck.

“Okay, okay, lover boy,” Eleanor relented and Zayn shoved her, almost making her tumble off the tiny bed. Eleanor burst out laughing, which in turn made Zayn join in.

“If you bully me around I don’t know if I wanna stay here,” Eleanor warned, a teasing lilt in her tone.

“Oh come on don’t be like that! I have my own bathroom and everything,” Zayn grinned.

“Why is that, by the way? I noticed a floor bathroom on the way up,” she asked.

Zayn shrugged. “Dunno, actually. I guess some kids just get lucky. There’s a few more of these bigger rooms with bathrooms scattered throughout the floors.”

“Oh, well, in that case, I’m staying, but only for the bathroom.”

“Sure, sure,” Zayn rolled his eyes, grinning. He was about to say something else, until they heard a knock on the door.

“Who on earth could that be?” Zayn muttered, “it’s not like I have many friends,” he added jokingly. Eleanor grinned and shook her head at him, but shrugged, not knowing who would knock at this hour. 

Zayn trudged over to the door, his gray sweatpants he had changed into dragging on the carpet, yawning as he opened it. His eyes opened comically wide and Eleanor gasped from the bed.

Louis was there, leaning against the doorframe, his hair shoved in a red beanie, covering his fringe he was sporting earlier. He stood up straight when he noticed Zayn opened the door and he plastered a sheepish smile on his face.

“Oh, um, hi Louis,” Zayn said, awkwardly. 

“Hi, Zayn, right?” Louis offered a hand that Zayn took hesitantly to shake. Eleanor fought the urge to groan and shove her head into Zayn’s pillows. What the hell was Louis doing here?

“Yeah, why?” Zayn brilliantly came up with.

“Well, I, um, well… Eleanor told me you were her step cousin and I was wondering if you knew where she was?” Louis said quickly. Zayn got a smirk on his face at the step cousin thing, but he didn’t comment on it. Actually, it looked as if the whole situation amused Zayn, his eyes alight with laughter.

“I’m right here Louis,” Eleanor called from the bed, slipping off the bed and walking over to the two boys.

“Oh!” Louis blushed, “hi, El.”

“What brings you here?” she asked, hoping it wasn’t an answer that would screw everything up.

“Well,” Louis rubbed the back of his neck, “you left so suddenly earlier and I had no other way of contacting you, so I wanted to just, I don’t know, see if you were okay?”

“Yeah Lou, I’m fine,” Eleanor forced a smile and Louis’ answering smile was blinding.

“So also, what are you doing tomorrow night?” he asked, trying to seem casual. Oh, no. Where was this going?

“Um, I’m not sure yet, why?” she asked.

“Would you want to go out to dinner? Like with me? I would cook, but apparently I’m not the worlds’ best chef, according to my friends. Even though I am pretty damn good with the microwave,” Louis babbled. Eleanor peeked at Zayn from the corner of her eye and she noticed how he was trying to hold back laughter at the whole situation. If anyone had asked Eleanor if she’d be in a situation where her daddy was asking her out on a date, she would have laughed in their face. Yet, here she was.

“Like on a date?” was the first thing that came to her mind and she wanted to hit herself. Smooth.

“Er, yeah,” Louis’ cheeks pinked a little and he bit his lip, his face reflecting worry.

“I, uh, can’t,” Eleanor said, not bothering to come up with a plausible excuse, “but maybe I can hang with you and your friends at the little coffee shop down the street? I heard there was going to be a raging thunderstorm tomorrow, so that sounds lovely,” she winked at him, smiling. 

Louis smiled. “Sure, that sounds great,” he said, but you could hear the disappointment coloring his voice, “I’ll see you tomorrow then? At, three o’clock?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Louis stood there for a moment before he realized he should be leaving, so he tumbled out an awkward bye and closed the door behind him. The second the door shut, Zayn let out a burst of laughter, to the point where he couldn’t stop laughing.

“Your _face_ when he asked!” he wheezed, “your own _father!_ ” 

Eleanor glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Not funny Zayn, that was so uncomfortable!”

Zayn ignored her and kept giggling to himself, until Eleanor brushed passed him and plopped down on the bed. She buried her face in one of his pillows and groaned loudly.

“Hey, hey, don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” Zayn said, once he calmed down.

“That’s what they all say,” Eleanor mumbled, her face still covered by the pillow, “remind me to jump out the window later?”

“God, so dramatic!” Zayn shoved her lightly, “now go get changed, you look tired.”

“I am tired,” Eleanor agreed, “this has been the longest day of my life. I should be home sleeping or doing homework. Maybe teasing Cher or sneaking candy from my dad’s candy jar in his room.”

“And instead, you’re here, in the past, trying to get your dads back together without messing everything up,” Zayn nodded, sympathetic.

“To put it lightly,” Eleanor grinned, “now turn around and toss me a t-shirt and sweatpants, will you?”

Zayn walked over to his drawers, already open and spilling with various items, and threw a wrinkly t-shirt at her, just plain black. He also tossed a pair of gray sweatpants at her. Both items looked extremely big, but comfortable, so Eleanor quickly stripped off her clothes and slipped them on. She hated sleeping in a thong, since they were so uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to even ask for a pair of Zayn’s boxers. She felt like that would be crossing some sort of line.

“Decent?” Zayn asked, his tan fingers covering his eyes.

“Yes,” Eleanor replied, flopping down onto the mattress, “did anyone tell you your bed feels like cardboard? Maybe a metal box?”

“Okay, okay, I get it, my mattress is shitty,” Zayn rolled his eyes, “get me another one if you want.”

“I’m just teasing grumpy pants,” she stuck her tongue out at him from under her mound of blankets that she tucked up near her chin.

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Zayn offered, “you comfy?”

“Mhm,” Eleanor hummed, her eyes already closing. All she could hear was the shuffling of Zayn’s feet as he set up his bed on the couch, and finally a loud creaking noise as he settled down. The light behind her eyelids got darker as she heard the light switch click off.

“Get a good night’s sleep, El,” Zayn’s voice came after a minute of silence, just the sound of their breathing, “you have a hot date tomorrow, you know.”

Eleanor promptly flipped him off, even if he couldn’t see it in the dark and muttered something unintelligible, making Zayn laugh, before she fell into a deep sleep, wishing the day’s events were all just a sick nightmare.

 

-

 

Eleanor tossed and turned all night, not being able to get comfortable. All she could think about were the things that could go wrong; it was so vital that her dads got together. What if in this past, because of Eleanor, Louis never realizes he’s gay until a long time from now? With a different guy? What if Harry decides that waiting for the “straight boy” is taking too long? She felt overheated and uncomfortable, the sheets tangled up in her sweaty legs. She wished the dorm had some sort of overhead fan, but all she could hear were the distant sounds of the air-conditioner, but as Zayn mentioned, it barely even worked.

It was a relief when morning came, the bright light of the sun peeking through the blinds on the windows, illuminating the room in a yellowish morning glow. Eleanor felt as if she never even went to bed, but at that point she didn’t care. She didn’t even care that the clock read 7:00. She decided that she had to do something with her jumpy self, so she hopped out of bed and headed to the shower.

She put the water mostly on cold, letting it cool her feverish skin. She sighed in relief as the water trickled over her body and she took her time combing in the shampoo and conditioner, even taking time to lather some sort of body wash all over her body. When she got out, it was nearly 8:00. She wrapped one towel around her head, and one around her body, tucking in the ends so it wouldn’t fall. She tiptoed out of the shower, careful not to wake Zayn, although, judging by his expression, he was dead to the world and he wouldn’t be up for a long while. He looked peaceful, his mouth slightly open, a soft snore coming from him, his cheek squished against the pillow.

Eleanor held up her outfit from yesterday and sighed, not wanting to put it on. She crept over to his drawers, finding a pair of sweatpants that looked a little small, rolling them up at the bottoms, attempting to make them look fashionable. She also found a black muscle tank top that could pass as a girls’ shirt and slipped it on. She looked in the mirror and shrugged; she passed as a girl enough and it wasn’t like she was trying to impress anyone. Riffling around in Zayn’s drawers, she discovered a brush, brushing out her long brown hair and decided to let it air dry. 

It was still really early and she didn’t plan on waking Zayn, so she grabbed a pair of his too big sneakers and decided to go on a run, shower be damned. Hopefully, she wouldn’t get lost around campus, as she already seemed to get lost walking around the thing.

Eleanor found a path easy enough once she was outside, the fresh air calming her even more. She loved going on runs, because she felt as if they cleared her thoughts from the worries that plagued her at night. She just started to get a good pace when she heard someone calling her name from behind.

“Eleanor! Eleanor, that _is_ you right?”

She turned her head behind her, trying to see who had been calling her name, and saw Liam jogging to catch up to her. She slowed down so he could reach her and he smiled at her, his eyes crinkling in a way that made Eleanor want to smile back.

“It is, I’m glad you remember,” she told him, “Liam, right?” she asked, even though she could have never mistaken one of her dads’ closest friends.

“Yeah,” he beamed, “sorry to like, interrupt you, but I saw you running and I just thought it’d be nice to have a partner. No one else will get up with me this early,” he chuckled.

“No, I understand, Zayn’s still dead to the world,” she laughed with him. For a minute, there was only the sound of their sneakers hitting the pavement and their slightly heavier breathing. The campus wasn’t crowded this early in the morning, a few other people jogging, some reading in the cool shade of the trees.

“Um, not to be rude,” Liam started, “but are you wearing guys’ clothes?” he asked, a smile playing on his lips.

Eleanor blushed. “Well, yeah, I mean, they were transferring my bag over and they lost it, so I really don’t know when I’m going to get it back, which is so frustrating.”

“If you want, I can ask Perrie if you could borrow some of hers. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. Hell, she’s obsessed with fashion, she’d probably love showing you off in her intricate outfits,” Liam offered.

“Oh, no, that’s okay, I can live off of Zayn’s sweatpants,” Eleanor protested, feeling guilty at borrowing the girl she barely knows’ clothes. Although, Perrie _did_ seem to like her and seemed like a really nice girl.

“C’mon, Perrie’s a sweetheart, she won’t mind,” Liam nudged her shoulder.

“Fine, fine,” Eleanor relented, “by the way, I um, have a question.”

“Yeah?”

“Has Louis ever… um… acted strange?” Eleanor started, not sure how to put her thoughts into a way that wasn’t offensive.

“Louis is strange, you have to get used to it,” Liam rolled his eyes, “love him, but he’s so odd.”

“No, I mean… like… feminine,” she tried, peeking over at Liam’s reaction, who seemed unfazed.

“Well, I mean he does have four sisters, so…” Liam shrugged, “why?”

“I, um, someone told me he might be… Gay. Do you think it’s a possibility?” she went out with it, blaming it on someone who didn’t exist. “Not that I would care, gay people are cool, it’s just out of curiosity.”

“Louis? Gay? No, they were just messing with you,” Liam shook his face, but then giggled, “man, I can’t wait to tease him for this. He’ll probably be so mad someone was spreading that.”

Eleanor sighed. So no one even had an inkling Louis as gay, not even Louis himself. Well, she just had to shove Harry under Louis’ nose, and maybe that would change his mind. 

“What do you think of Harry Styles?” she asked suddenly. She might as well find out the details of the two of their lives; it’ll make her job a lot easier. Maybe Liam could somehow match them up.

“Harry who?” 

“Right,” Eleanor sighed, “never mind.” That fact that Harry was so anonymous was challenging; no one knew him enough to invite him anywhere. She knew what she had to do; she had to befriend Harry herself, just like Zayn said. She couldn’t rely on other people anymore. 

“Hey look, there’s Perrie now… that’s weird, I wonder why they’re up early…. she’s with Niall, let’s go get you clothes now I guess,” Liam piped up, speeding up his jogging to reach them. The two were on a checkered blanket under a tree, out of harm’s way from the sun’s strong beams, the shade protecting them. It seemed as if many people were taking advantage of the sunny day, many on blankets or bike rides around campus. Niall was lying on his back, eyes closed, and Perrie was reading a fashion magazine, legs crossed at the ankles. They both looked up as Liam approached them, smiles on their faces, Niall sitting up.

Eleanor groaned, picking up her pace as well, but she was tired. She hadn’t run in a while and a cramp was stabbing her side, and her breaths were embarrassingly loud. She finally reached the others, trying to mask her breathing, grabbing her side subtly. She glared at Liam, since he seemed to be perfectly fine and not out of breath. She wiped the sweat off her brow and forced a smile at the others. 

“’Sup,” she breathed, making Niall laugh.

“Nice run, El?” he grinned and she blushed.

“Okay, no one can be all in shape like you Niall,” she stuck her tongue out at him. It was nice how comfortable she was around these people, since she already knew them in her time.

“Niall? In shape? The kid sits on the couch all day drinking beer and playing video games,” Perrie scoffed, crossing her arms, a little smirk on her face. Just like she had the other day, Perrie impressed Eleanor with her outfit, wearing high waisted denim shorts, a leather jacket, black boots, and a black bandana on her head like a headband. Next to her, Eleanor felt like an old worn out sock, drenched in sweat and in boys’ clothes, with no makeup.

“Perrie’s just bitter because she doesn’t have my rock hard abs,” Niall countered, rubbing his stomach slowly and in a seductive manner, making Perrie roll her big blue eyes.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Liam interrupted, exasperated, “as I was saying, Perrie, do you think Eleanor could borrow some of your clothes for a bit? You seem about the same size, and they lost Eleanor’s luggage.”

“I’m flattered you think I’m as skinny as Eleanor,” Perrie laughed, “I’m super jealous of your body, El. But of course she can! Anything for a fellow girl! I need more girl friends anyway, I’m getting tired of hanging out with you lot.”

“Oi! You love us,” Niall jumped in. 

“Thank you so much Perrie, I owe you,” Eleanor smiled gratefully, everyone ignoring Niall. 

“Why are you guys up so early, anyway?” Liam asked suspiciously, “you two usually sleep like rocks till at least twelve.” 

Niall shrugged. “My class got canceled because my professor was sick or something and I was already up.”

“And he so kindly woke me up too because you were already gone and he was bored,” Perrie added, rolling her eyes, making Eleanor and Liam chuckle.

Eleanor then looked up and spotted Louis and Stan heading over, in light conversation, and she froze. She was not in the mood to deal with Louis’ flirting and obliviousness, and plus, she was supposed to meet him hours from now. 

“Shit,” she muttered, “I have to go, I’ll stop by later to get clothes Perrie, bye guys!” she quickly spit out, turning in the other direction and running off. 

“I reckon she has a crush on Louis, she gets so nervous every time he’s around,” she heard Niall whispering to Liam as she jogged off, although she couldn’t really classify it as whispering, as it was super loud. Eleanor almost lost her footing at this, but she righted herself and kept going, desperate to get back to Zayn’s dorm and to safety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love love love the feedback I'm getting! Especially after the long day I've had so THANK YOU


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly at this point the whole story will be up very soon, I seem to be very impatient with waiting to post chapters, oops!

After her run, Eleanor’s day was really uneventful, leading up to the coffee date she had with Louis and his friends. Zayn had classes, and since she didn’t _really_ go to the school, she obviously didn’t have to go to any. She had time to just laze around Zayn’s dorm, which she really didn’t mind. Eleanor had never been a girl who needed to be constantly going out and doing something; she was honestly fine lazing around her house all day, watching the telly and catching up on her reading. Her favorite time was wintertime for this, where she would dress in some of her dad’s old sweatshirts and her favorite long knee socks, and cuddle up under her comforter with a good book. The best part was that her bed was next to a huge window that overlooked the forest in her back yard, where she could daydream out the window and watch the rain that seemed more frequent than not. 

So, in turn, she found herself enjoying herself as she discovered a box set of the first season of Friends, popping it into the dvd player and ordering an anchovies pizza to the room. Harry had always teased her for ordering that, saying that fish are nasty and no one should eat them, but Louis would back her up saying she was perfectly fine to like the “disgusting beady little creatures.” She missed the tv in her room back home, where the projector took up the whole wall, but she wasn’t complaining – it was 2013 after all. 

There was a knock on the door around one and Eleanor grudgingly got up off her comfy spot on the couch. She wondered who it could be, since Zayn was in class, and he wouldn’t knock anyway. She prayed it wasn’t Louis again. Instead, Perrie was there when she opened the door, a bulky purple bag in her arms, a huge smile on her face.

“Hi El!” she smiled, “you never came back for clothes so I decided to come to you! Hope you don’t mind?” 

Eleanor felt her heart warm. “No, no, of course, thank you, it completely slipped my mind! I got caught up watching Friends.”

Perrie laughed. “Don’t apologize for that sweetie, I could watch that show every day for the rest of my life and not get bored.” 

Eleanor felt secondhand embarrassment at the fact that Zayn’s dorm was still so messy – he would pass out from mortification if he ever found out she was in here. Eleanor spotted a pair of boxers on the floor and quickly kicked them under the bed while Perrie looked around.

“You’re tidy, aren’t you?” she teased, plopping the bag on Zayn’s unmade bed.

“It’s not me!” Eleanor protested, sitting on the bed next to the bag, “my step cousin and I are sharing a dorm at the moment. It’s temporary.”

“Ah, Zack, right?” she asked, starting to pull some of the articles of clothing out.

“Uh, no, Zayn actually,” Eleanor corrected, but Perrie wasn’t paying that much attention to her. 

“So,” she started, “I’m lending you these five shorts. Here’s some tanks and short sleeved shirts, and I threw in a few vests and such to flavor up your outfits. And I added some bras and knickers, barely used I swear I just thought you’d want something. And don’t give me a look at the fact they’re all push up, I need all the help I can get,” she laughed, spreading out the items on his bed.

“I’m speechless,” Eleanor breathed, “seriously Perrie, this is probably the nicest thing someone has done for me. Thank you!” She suddenly engulfed the other girl in a huge hug, almost knocking her over.

Perrie laughed, “It was nothing El! I’m gonna get going, though. You’re going to the coffee shop in a bit though, yeah?”

Before Eleanor could answer, the door opened, Zayn walking in, in the midst of throwing off his t-shirt. It was halfway over his head, so he couldn’t see that he had a special someone in his room. “I’ve had the longest day El you have no id-“ he cut off short when his shirt was pulled completely off his head, noticing Perrie in his dorm. His eyes widened and his cheeks turned a bright pink color, visible even over his tan skin.

“Oh, hey Zayn,” Eleanor said casually, as if she didn’t notice Zayn was having an internal breakdown. She peeked over at Perrie who was staring at Zayn with pink cheeks, staring at his abs. She met Eleanor’s eyes and her cheeks turned pinker. Eleanor never noticed that Zayn had sprinkles of black tattoos scattered on his stomach, since she’d never seen him shirtless as an adult.

“I-I’m gonna… yeah… I’ll see you,” Perrie stuttered out, brushing past Zayn’s naked torso and walking out of the door. There was silence afterward, Zayn still frozen in the doorway.

“Zayn? You okay?” Eleanor asked, an amused smile creeping on her face. No reply. “Zayn?”

“Why,” he voice came out weak, “why was Perrie in my room?”

“She was lending me clothes,” Eleanor shrugged, shoving most of them back in the bag, only keeping out the black shorts, white tank top, and blue denim vest to put on.

“Perrie. _Perrie Edwards_ was in my room. My messy arse room. Oh my god,” he breathed, “I’m going to kill you Eleanor!”

“What? I was doing you a favor!”

“You caught me so off guard! And I look like a slob!” Zayn yelled back, running his hands over his quiff.

“No, you look hot! Did you see the way she was staring at you?” Eleanor exclaimed, exasperated.

“What?” Zayn paused.

“She was staring at you. I know girls. She thinks you’re hot, Zayn,” Eleanor said matter-of-factly, “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to get ready to meet up with Louis and his friends. Ciao.” And with that, Eleanor left a dumbstruck Zayn in favor of cleaning herself up in the bathroom, grabbing her clothes on the way in. 

 

-

 

Newly refreshed, Eleanor bid a quick goodbye to Zayn, starting the short walk to the coffee place that Louis and his friends invited her to. She hoped the place was as good as the coffee shop she went to back home; she went there so frequently they knew what she wanted the second she walked through the door, a pumpkin spice latte with extra whipped cream. 

When she reached the location, she realized she loved it immediately. It was little, almost unnoticeable, the whole walls made up of bricks, a few green metal chairs outside to sit in and wait in. When she walked in, a little bell chimed on the door, and the barista behind the counter gave her a warm smile. 

The inside was as cute as the outside, with rows of black booths and a fireplace in the back surrounded by a few cushioned chairs. There was soft music playing in the background, something cheery and light that’s radiated through the shop. The floor was hard wooded, shiny but marked with scuffmarks of the constant customers littered about. There were a lot of windows as well, framed with dark green curtains, where you could watch the people milling about on the street, walking their dogs or laughing with their friends.

“El! Over here!” she looked over to where the shouting was coming from and smiled when she saw Louis frantically waving his arms at her. Beside him, Perrie was already there, sipping out of her coffee cup stained with pink lipstick, and next to her, Liam and Niall were laughing at something. Stan was there as well, to Eleanor’s chagrin – she still got a weird vibe from the bloke. 

“Hey guys,” she smiled as she slid in the seat next to Louis, “how is everyone?”

Niall looked up at her voice. “Oh, hey El! We’re all great. Especially Perrie, isn’t that right Pez?”

Perrie turned a lovely pink color and looked down at her cup. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she mumbled. Eleanor raised an eyebrow at them.

“Is Zayn single?” Niall asked, the teasing still evident in his voice.

“Yes, very single,” Eleanor laughed, “don’t know why though, the kid’s charming once you get to know him. Why?”

“Seems like a certain Perrie Edwards can’t stop talking about him,” Niall wiggled his blonde eyebrows at her, then changed his voice high-pitched to poorly impersonate her, “’he was shirtless when he walked in guys! _Shirtless_!’”

Perrie blushed deeper. “I don’t sound like that, and plus, it’s not like I have anyone else to vent to. You boys are no fun.” Eleanor grinned; she knew that Perrie had thought Zayn was hot, which was great news. Now if she could just get them together, she was sure that Perrie would like Zayn’s personality, too. If he would come out of his shell… 

“Oh look over there,” Stan interrupted the conversation, “it’s that gay boy over there, Harry.”

“Who?” Louis asked, swiveling in his seat. Eleanor’s heart sped up as she turned to view Stan was indicating, and sure enough, Harry was sipping his own coffee, his ridiculously big lips curling over the lid, intently reading a textbook in front of him. His black hipster glasses were still on, but they were sliding down his nose as he read, but he wasn’t paying any attention to it. 

“Oi! You there!” Stan called. Harry’s head jerk upwards, and in this motion, he almost tipped over his cup. His face turned red, but he didn’t answer Stan’s calling. “What are you doing here, faggot? I thought I told you not to come here anymore; it bothers me when gays are in the coffee shop. Could be checking me out for all I know.” Harry’s face turned a brighter shade of red, but he looked down at the table, not meeting anyone’s eyes. Stan’s think lips were curled in a malicious smile, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement. 

“Aren’t you guys going to say something?” she whispered to Louis.

“Stan does this to everyone, it’s not a big deal, it’s just how he is,” Louis said, but he was biting his lip, looking at Harry with pity.

“Seriously?” Eleanor asked, “you’re gonna sit there?” In the background, she heard Stan’s insults getting worse, and Harry looked like he wanted to be swallowed up whole. The tall boy usually looked big, but he looked small against Stan’s assaults. He’d moved on to call him gangly and a “fucking nerd.” People around the shop were starting to look now, curious expressions on their face.

“Stan, cut it out,” Eleanor spoke up, tired of no one coming to Harry’s aide. Harry looked relieved, but Stan turned to her.

“Who do you think you are?” he asked her venomously.

“Just leave him alone. He’s not bothering anyone, and quite frankly Stan, you shouldn’t be so cocky. I’m _sure_ that you’re not Harry’s type. I don’t think he likes ugly homophobic arseholes,” she spat back. Eleanor was always nice to people in school, which is why she had a lot of friends so, incidentally, she hated fighting with people. But if anyone messed with her enough, the feisty side of her comes out. Everyone’s eyes widened at her statement, Niall letting out an impressed whistle under his breath, Liam looking aghast that she would say that to him, letting out a huge gasp.

“What did you say to me, bitch?” Stan whirled on her, his eyes flashing. 

“Whoa whoa , let’s not do anything we’ll regret, shall we?” Louis jumped in between them, his eyes pleading. If Eleanor could see herself, she knew she probably looked really angry; her eyebrows pulled downwards, her jaw set straight, eyes narrowed. She didn’t understand why Stan had to be so offensive, because Harry wasn’t doing anything to him. And plus, it made her angry that he was going after her dad. No one goes after _her_ Harry.

“You’re not worth it,” Stan muttered, “nice choice of friends, Lou.”

“Yeah, nice choice of _friends_ Lou,” Eleanor bit back. By this point, the whole coffee shop, littered with people from their school, was watching. “I’m going. Sorry Louis, but after that, I don’t really want to stick around. We should meet up again soon, yeah?” She turned to him, apology in her eyes. Louis looked crestfallen, but he nodded.

“Yeah, here, give me your number so we can actually communicate without me going all the way up to Zayn’s dorm,” he cracked a smile, plucking her phone out of her back pocket and plugging his number in, handing her his own. Eleanor did the same, but when she got hers back she noticed the contact was “Sexy motherfucker.” Rolling her eyes, she laughed at him and changed it to a simple “Lou.” She noticed a contact “Daddy” as she was scrolling and paused, wondering if he still had the same number, but she shook her head and locked her phone. Might as well not screw everything up.

She walked out of the coffee shop, waving goodbye to everyone else, still a bit angry. She blew up a piece of hair that fell into her face, the bell going off again as Eleanor yanked it open. She sighed, looking around at what direction that she came in, when the bell chimed again behind her. 

“Eleanor, right?” she heard a voice behind her, and she whirled around at the familiar voice.

“Oh, hi Harry,” she smiled sheepishly, “sorry if I embarrassed you back there. He just makes me so angry.” She realized her fists were still clenched. 

“No you couldn’t embarrass me more than Stan did before you stepped in,” Harry rubbed the back of his neck, “but, er, I wanted to thank you for that. No one’s ever done that for me before.”

“You mean he’s done this _before_?” Eleanor exclaimed, astonished.

“Yeah, kind of a lot,” Harry shrugged, “I’m used to it. Plus, I get by with the fact I know that Stan is as dumb as a stump. He’ll go nowhere in life.” He grinned at Eleanor and she laughed.

“That is true,” she smiled, “hey, do you want to come back up to my dorm for a bit? I know it’s a bit forward but I’m in the mood to watch Friends and Zayn never wants to watch it with me.” She stuck her bottom lip out, pleading. She might as well start befriending Harry; especially at a time he was showing gratitude towards her.

Harry beamed, as if no one had asked him before. In fact, maybe no one had. “Sure, but actually want to go to my dorm? Ed said he wanted to get pizza.”

“Ed…?” Eleanor prompted.

“Sheeran. He’s my roommate,” Harry explained.

“Oh, okay. But yeah sure, I’m just warning you though, I may look skinny, but I can wolf down a whole pie by myself. Just you watch Harry, you’ve been warned,” Eleanor grinned. Harry let out a bark of laughter, quickly covering his mouth with his hand, as if he wasn’t allowed to laugh like that. It was quite endearing. 

“By the way, my dorm’s a bit messy, so _you’ve_ been warned,” Harry added as they began the trek up to the dorm rooms. The stairs were not any better than the last time she went up them, and she felt herself covering up her heavy breathing again. She made a note to really start working out when she got home. 

“Eddison, I’m home!” Harry called as he swung open the door. The dorm was not what she was expecting – when he’d said it was messy, she was expecting a dorm with haphazardly scattered items all of the floor, resembling a bit like Zayn’s. Instead, he found herself in a dimly lit room, only lit up by fairy lights all around the ceiling, the walls scattered in various pictures and paintings. The back wall had a huge map with red lines and pins all stuck in it. In the back corner, there was a towel on the ground, and on top of it was an easel, paints and paintbrushes littering the floor around it.

“Wow,” was all Eleanor could say. 

“I know you can say it,” a red-haired guy spoke up from his spot on the bed, tinkling with the strings on his acoustic guitar, “we’re just two typical hipster art freaks. I’m Ed, by the way.” 

“Hi Ed, I’m Eleanor,” she smiled sticking out her hand for him to shake, which he accepted. Ed’s hands were very calloused, Eleanor assumed from the guitar he still had in his hands, hours and hours of playing the instrument with the rough strings. 

“I must say, I am a bit surprised you’ve brought one home, young Harold, I thought you were, how do you put it… extremely gay?” Ed grinned at him, to show he was teasing, and Harry flipped him off.

“Cut it out Sheeran, she’s just a friend,” Harry rolled his eyes, plopping down on the other bed in the room. Eleanor was really surprised at how relaxed Harry seemed in this environment, in contrast to the deer in the headlights look he acquired every other time she’d seen him, but this was more like the Harry she knew. She just assumed the real him came out when he was in a place where he wouldn’t be ridiculed or judged, which made Eleanor really sad that her dad couldn’t be the way he was out in public. But some people were just shy, and they just couldn’t help it. 

“So, Ed, you in for a marathon of Friends’ episodes?” Eleanor asked, settling in next to Harry. She grabbed a pillow from the top of his bed and propped it behind her head to it didn’t lean against the hard wall; plus, there was a large picture of the London skyline right where her head was, and she didn’t want to screw anything up.

“Am I? Is that even a question?” Ed said indignantly, “Pop it in and let me call the pizza place!”

Harry hopped off the bed to put it in and plopped down right next to Eleanor again. He grabbed a beanie from the floor and shoved it on his curls, shoving a few out of his face.

“Who’s the big painter?” Eleanor asked once the opening credits rolled across the screen, the theme song in the background. Harry didn’t answer right away in favor of doing the quick claps in the song, making Eleanor giggle.

“I am, actually,” Harry blushed, barely visible under the lights, “I’m a loser, I know, but it’s just like… when I get stressed, it’s an easy way to relieve it, you know? Plus, as you probably guessed, I’m not the biggest social butterfly. Ed goes to a lot of underground hipster parties or whatever, but I’m not the biggest fan.” Harry shrugged, not meeting Eleanor’s eyes.

“No, Harry that’s admirable. You could choose to go out and do ‘cool’ things like get drunk every weekend, but you don’t. And you focus on your schoolwork, study hard. You’re going to make a boy very happy one day,” she smiled, a pang in her heart how it was Louis and Louis still didn’t know Harry. And in Eleanor’s world, Harry wasn’t happy, and both were heart-broken. 

Harry blushed deeper, his coloring more visible now. “Do you think it’s weird I’m gay? Stan seems to think so. And everyone in there that doesn’t say anything.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes again. The tv was forgotten in the background, the distant sounds of Monica and Rachel arguing on the screen was heard, but they paid no attention. 

“No, god no Harry!” Eleanor exclaimed, “Gay people are awesome. And I’m not saying in that typical white girl that is like ‘oh all gay people are so cute let’s go shopping with them!’ But like, a lot of gay people are the bravest people I’ve ever met. They grow up, thinking there’s something wrong with them, because they’re made to be that way, but they stay strong, and when they come out, they show they’re proud of being different and go for what they want. And it’s just, wow, Harry don’t you see how amazing you are? You keep your cool, even when Stan insults you, and you can deny it, but you just take it and it’s just wow. And by the way, I’ve never had a mum because I have gay fathers, and they’re just two of the strongest, bravest people I’ve ever met. I love them dearly. So you’re not alone.” She didn’t mean to get so heated on the subject, but the words poured out of her before she could stop them. 

Harry was looking at her with a weak smile, a layer of mist on his eyes. “Okay,” he squeaked, then cleared his throat, “I mean, thank you Eleanor. It’s wow, thank you.”

“Anytime Har,” she smiled. Just then, Ed flung himself on top of them, making them both grunt. 

“Pizza’s on its way,” he grinned up at them, “sorry, I have a bit of a way of getting comfortable with new people.”

“You should get used to it,” Harry laughed, “now get off me you big oaf.” Ed rolled off them and sat up right.

“What did I miss?” he asked them, propping up his own pillow.

Harry and Eleanor looked at each other and burst out laughing. “We have no idea mate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how long this intense updating is gonna last, but oh poor little Harry don't hate me!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg I apologize ten times over for this monster of a chapter it's a billion words long!! I honestly don't know how this happened omg

Eleanor had expected becoming friends with Harry would have been more difficult, due to the fact that everyone constantly called the kid shy, which he was around other people, but for some reason, he really seemed to open up to Eleanor. She was pretty sure it was because of the day in the coffee shop where she stuck up for him, and he knew right then and there that Eleanor was someone he could trust. 

Harry was actually hilarious, with his corny jokes and his clumsy ways, and he never failed to make Eleanor laugh all the time. Ed was funny too; every time she hung out in Harry’s dorm he’d sit there, Harry being the butt of all of his jokes. 

Eleanor still saw Louis after that day; actually she saw him almost as much as Harry. She made sure she was never alone with him, though, lest he get the wrong idea. But Perrie, Niall, and Liam were great company as well, and she loved Louis’ group just as much as Harry and Ed. The upside was that after the coffee incident, Louis made sure that Stan never hung out with them when she was around. Sure, Eleanor would still see him in the hallways sometimes, and he never failed to give her a nasty glare as he walked by. So be it. Eleanor honestly didn’t care.

She and Zayn hung out a lot still, too. It was a little hard to balance out the three groups (in Zayn’s case, person) of friends, but she managed. She was honestly having the time of her life here; she got on with everyone so nicely. She almost wished she’d stay here forever, pretending Harry and Louis weren’t actually her dads – _almost_. She still missed her old life, and she was still desperate to get back to it. 

So that’s why on this particular day, about a week or so after the incident, Eleanor found herself in an abandoned shed with Zayn as he tinkered with the time machine. To both of their horror, earlier in the week, Zayn had found out the compartment that stored the Electraform was a bit busted up from the trip, meaning there was even more work to be done before he began to find the Electraform that didn’t exist in this time period. 

“Is it looking any better Zayn?” Eleanor asked as she sat on a dusty shelf, swinging her long legs. She could only see the back of his black hair as he leaned over the hood with a wrench, the sounds of metal on metal in the air. The shed was a bit stuffy and hot, making Eleanor lift her brown hair off her neck and fan the back of it with her free hand.

“A bit. Still got a ways to go,” his muffled voice told her and she nodded, even though he couldn’t see her.

“Hey Zayn? Are you ever going to talk to Perrie again?” she decided to ask. She didn’t get the satisfaction of seeing him blush, but the metal sound stopped.

“I wouldn’t even call what happened last time ‘talking’ Eleanor,” Zayn huffed, still hidden under the shiny purple hood.

“Yeah, whatever,” Eleanor dismissively waved her hand, “so are you? She totally digs you. You have nothing to lose.”

“My dignity, maybe?” he said exasperated, emerging from the hood, “honestly El, do you really think I’m some smooth talker?”

“She’ll find it endearing, young Zayn,” Eleanor grinned, hopping down from the shelf, “besides, she already thinks you’re steamy.”

Zayn rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, El.”

“Well, if you don’t mind, I actually have plans to meet up with everyone at the coffee shop,” Eleanor said, backing towards the door.

“Look at you, not even in this time period and you have more friends than me. I’m embarrassed,” Zayn teased, “go, I need to concentrate anyway!” With that, he hit her with the grease rag he was using on the bag of her leg and she squealed and jumped out of the way. She didn’t want him to get grease on her new pink shorts; she actually went and got clothes for herself with Perrie, Perrie insisting on treating her. Eleanor had no doubt that Perrie was loaded, but she politely declined anyway, until Perrie practically forced her into the store with her.

Eleanor grinned as she made the short walk towards the coffee shop, resisting the urge to spin with her arms out. It was such a beautiful day in London, which was a rare occurrence in itself, yet they were all in the mood for coffee after late night studying the night before, so they decided not to meet at their infamous picnic benches. 

When she got in, no one was there yet, so she went to their normal table and sat down, getting comfortable. She was just picking up the menu for the days’ special when she heard a slight bang and an “ouch!” from the table behind her. She turned around, but she was met with a menu covering someone’s face. She raised her eyebrow, confused, but when she looked down and saw chinos on the huge feet, pigeon-toed at an awkward angle, she knew exactly who it was.

“Harry?” she asked, and his curls poked out as he lowered the menu, slowly revealing his face. He looked sheepish as he smiled and gave an awkward wave.

“Er, hey El.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, laughing, “We’re hanging later, okay? I’m just hanging with Lou first here, I told you that.” Harry already knew about her friendship with Louis, but every time Louis was brought up he quickly changed the subject, his face getting red and his eyes averting.

Like predicted, just that happened, his ears turning a bit red as well. “Yeah, I know, I just…”

Eleanor paused. It all clicked. The stuttering, the blushing, the showing up at the coffee place… “Harry? Do you have a crush on Louis?” She grinned at him from ear to ear, sliding into the booth with him.

Harry’s green eyes widened, his neck now blotting with redness. “W-what? No!” he spluttered.

“Don’t lie to me, Harold,” she warned, “tell me! I’m good friends with him! I can work the magic!” she nudged him. She felt ecstatic; if Harry already had a crush on Louis, it’ll make it a lot easier!

“Fine, okay okay I do! You happy?” he grumbled, hanging his head, “I’ve had the biggest crush on him ever since he sat in front of me in literature. Of course he never gives me the time of day, but the first day he walked in with that big smile and bright blue eyes, and that loud laugh as he cracked a joke to Niall, I was gone.” - Eleanor opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. It seemed as if she opened the floodgates - “And he’s just so funny! The jokes he makes I sit there giggling for the longest time! And he’s so kind, always offering to help a hand. God…” Harry trailed off, a dreamy look in his eyes, “And of course I’m so out of his league! Look at me! He’s straight for god’s sake!”

Eleanor giggled at Harry’s cuteness. “Harry! Stop it! You’re way in his league, trust me! Plus, Louis may not be as straight as everyone makes him out to be.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked, a glint of hope in his eyes. Eleanor didn’t think it was the best idea to explain how he was her father and married to Louis, so she decided to just ignore his question.

“Just, er, never mind. But seriously, I’m meeting up with him, just _talk_ to him!”

“Eleanor, no!” he cried just as the bell chimed, indicating a new customer. Louis walked in, laughing loudly at one of Niall’s jokes, Perrie and Liam coming in behind them. She really did see what Harry meant; it was like when Louis walked in somewhere you felt his presence, always sunny and energetic, his laugh ringing in the shop. To Eleanor’s horror, Stan was also bringing up the rear, and she glared at him as he passed her, but none of them noticed them in Harry’s booth: probably because of the fact that Harry squeaked and buried his face behind the menu again.

“ _Harry!_ ” Eleanor sighed, exasperated, “Look, I’m going over there, but I expect something. If you leave or just sit there, so help me God, I’m telling Ed everything!”

“Not Ed!” Harry exclaimed, horrified, his voice muffled by the menu.

“Yes Ed! Now I’ll see you soon,” Eleanor winked, although he couldn’t see it, and made her way over to the booth where Louis and everyone else were.

“Hey everyone!” she greeted, slipping in next to Liam, smiling at them all, but carefully avoiding Stan’s eyes. Eleanor the other day thought she was clever when Zayn and her came up with the nickname “Satan” for Stan, since his name was already so close to it, so she had to stifle a giggle thinking about it.

The waitress came over to them, big smiles and long curly blonde hair, and Eleanor noticed she was actually really pretty. Not even really pretty – she was gorgeous. Niall’s eyes bugged out of his head at her, resembling a fish out of water, and Liam kicked him under the table to get him to shut his mouth. Eleanor noticed her golden nameplate read ‘Maria.’

“What would you guys like this afternoon?” she asked, turning to Niall, which, in turn, just stared at her, earning another swift kick to the shin from Liam.

“Um, I’d like an… um… coffee,” he dumbly stated. She waited for him to finish, but when it was clear he wasn’t she prompted, “and what kind would you like?”

“Oh… um… regular,” he got out. Eleanor giggled into her palm, trying not to show Niall how dumb he was sounding. Louis rolled his eyes and mouthed “ridiculous” to Eleanor, making her giggle again.

“Er, okay,” the waitress said, biting back a grin, “and you?”

After she went around giving orders, she turned on her heel back to the barista behind the counter, her hips swaying as she walked. Niall longingly stared after her and they all burst out laughing.

“Niall! That was ridiculous!” Perrie exclaimed, wiping under her eyes to not smear her makeup.

“Shut up! She was pretty!” Niall came back to reality, turning a brilliant shade of pink, his cheeks blotchy. 

“Aw, little Niall has a crush!” Louis chimed in, reaching over and pinching one of Niall’s cheek, Niall squawking indignantly, slapping his hand away. “Now they’re gonna grow up and pop out cute little blonde Niall’s! Look at the resemblance in hair color, it’s uncanny!”

“Fuck you all!” he grumbled, burying his head into his elbow. Liam patted his back comfortingly but he still had an amused glint in his eye that Niall couldn’t see. She came back shortly with the drinks, the blush still not out of Niall’s cheeks, and when she went away, everyone was still grinning at Niall.

“Guys, someone mope with me!” Louis said, pouting, turning the conversation away from poor Niall.

“Why?” Perrie laughed, shaking up a sugar packet, ripping it open and pouring it into her coffee.

“Lottie told me yesterday that she got a boyfriend! A boyfriend! She’s way too young!” Louis groaned.

“Louis, you’ve had girlfriends at her age,” Liam pointed out.

“No, but it’s… Lottie! She should be running off into the sunset with unicorns and rainbows or whatever shit fourteen year olds do!” Louis sputtered.

“Louis, I’m pretty sure no human does that,” Liam looked at him with confused eyes. Eleanor wasn’t really paying attention; she kept glancing over her shoulder to see if Harry was still there. The only telltale sign he was in fact still there was the menu that stubbornly stayed upwards, shielding his face from view. 

“I’m gonna go to the toilets, I’ll be right back,” she announced, sliding out from the booth and heading towards Harry’s table, subtly grabbing his wrist and pulling him from his table, earning a yelp from him, hoping no one noticed. 

“What was that for?” he asked as he stumbled behind her.

“Harry Edward Styles you are going over there to talk to Louis, I’m not gonna tell you again,” Eleanor ordered, stomping her flip-flop clad foot. She crossed her arms, trying to look menacing, but Eleanor knew she was about as menacing as a kitten.

“Maybe if he was by himself, but all of his friends are there… and Stan….” Harry bit his lip, his big eyes looking anxious.

“I’m there though,” Eleanor changed her tone, her voice softening, “Come on, you have nothing to lose! Stan’s an insecure little baby!”

“That’s what you think,” he muttered under his breath, “fine, give me like two minutes to prepare for my death.”

“Yay! That’s the spirit!” Eleanor clapped, giving him a reassuring hug before scampering back to the table. She tried to look not giddy, but it was hard, because she knew her plan was falling into place. This was her way of getting Louis to notice Harry earlier than the project, in place of when Harry dropped his books, and she was praying it would work.

She looked up and saw Harry awkwardly walking to the table, and she just wanted to yell at him to stand up a bit straighter as he shook out his curls and brushed them to the side. At least he looked good, in his dark blue jeans and light gray tshirt, the sleeves rolled up, and his big hipster glasses still perched on his nose. Eleanor knew that he did need them, yes, but his vision wasn’t so bad that he needed them all the time; he just preferred to have them on to see everything perfectly clear, not the least bit fuzzy. He looked longingly at the table he was previously sitting at, but it was already occupied with a new couple, so he grudgingly stopped in front of their table. Everyone paused the conversation and looked up at him, Niall even lifting his head off of his arms to see why everyone stopped talking.

“Hi, can I help you? Harry, is it?” Louis spoke up, giving him a confused look.

Harry’s eyes widened at the fact that Louis knew his name, and he gave Eleanor a desperate look. “Er, yeah,” he sputtered out, “um, I just… wanted to say that…” he trailed off, trying to find the right words. Perrie looked endeared, like Harry was a cute little puppy, Louis still looked confused, Niall and Liam were looking on with curiosity, and Stan was smirking at him. “I wanted to say that Louis, you’re really… nice.” Eleanor wanted to face palm herself, slap Harry, or both. _That’s_ what he came up with? _That_ was his major wooing words?

Louis cracked a smile, and he kind of had the puppy dog look that Perrie had but no, that couldn’t be happening, because Louis was supposed to think Harry was witty and sexy, not cute and endearing like a little sibling. “Um, thank you Harry –"

He was cut off by Stan, and Eleanor was about to wring Stan’s neck. “Aw, look, the little faggot has a crush on Louis!” He cackled really loudly, wiping under his eyes dramatically.

Harry turned beat red again, his green eyes looking glassy. Eleanor felt as if she swallowed a huge rock; she got Harry into this humiliating situation. She should have listened to him, because he clearly wasn’t ready for this. 

“Stan, can you please keep your opinions to yourself? For god’s sake!” Eleanor spoke up.

“Not again,” she thought she heard Niall mutter under his breath, but she paid no attention.

“Well it’s clear he does!” Stan scoffed.

“Seriously Stan, I think you should go,” Louis spoke up for once, not looking Stan in the eyes.

“What?” he whirled on Louis. His brown eyes looked incredulous, like the thought of Louis not siding with him was unheard of. 

“You’re being very rude, Harry seems lovely, I really think you should stop insulting him. Please just go,” Louis said quietly, looking at him pleadingly.

“Whatever Louis, I always knew you had a soft spot for gays. Don’t go crying to me when he tries to fuck your bumhole,” Stan spit, getting out from the booth and stalking out of the shop.

“I’m just gonna… yeah… “ Harry rubbed the back of his neck, gesturing towards the door.

“No Harry, why don’t you sit with us?” Louis offered, giving him his puppy pleading eyes, both of them wide and earnest, and Harry visibly gulped. It seemed like it was a chore for Harry to say no to the face.

“Er, I have to actually study, so um, I’ll see you guys around,” he mumbled, his face red. With that he walked out of the shop, his back hunched over, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

“That was odd, wasn’t it?” Liam asked. Not in a rude way, just genuinely curious.

“Yeah, a bit,” Niall agreed, “I’m so tired of Stan being such a twathole though. Seriously, Lou, all these times we’ve been hanging out without him have been better, lemme tell you.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Louis said faintly, staring after Harry, still looking a bit confused at the whole situation. 

“Damn it I wish he wasn’t gay because I would hop right on that,” Perrie said dreamily, fanning her eyelashes out dramatically.

“Oi! Don’t talk about him like that!” Louis shoved her shoulder, making her laugh. Eleanor grinned at Louis’ protective role over Harry, and she seriously couldn’t believe Louis stood up for Harry. She was upset, of course, that she might have made things worse, now maybe Louis thought Harry was really weird after that whole encounter, but the way he kept looking at the door and not mentioning anything further about it seemed to prove her otherwise. Or so she’s hoped.

“What do you mean, Perrie? You still have good ole’ Zayn to fall back on!” Niall chimed in, nudging her with his elbow, almost painfully.

She glared. “Yeah, yeah, make fun, lover boy, your girl’s over there,” she hooked her thumb over at the pretty blonde waitress still taking orders from another table. That shut Niall up as he suddenly was very busy reading the label on his tall glass of hot chocolate. Eleanor sighed, wondering where Harry had gotten off to, but another joke on Louis’ part snapped her back to attention to the table and she finally tried to relax, deeming she’d talk to Harry later.

 

-

 

She found Harry under the covers, the lights off, head buried in the pillows a little while later, glasses askew on his face.

Ed was on his bed, writing in his notebook, his bedside lamp on, the only light in the room – not even the fairy lights that were usually illuminating the room were on. He had a large textbook next to him that seemed to have an unnecessary amount of highlighter on the pages.

“Don’t even bother; he’s been like that for about, hmm, two hours now? Won’t tell me anything,” Ed rolled his eyes, not taking his eyes off the paper in front of him. The sleeve of his long sleeved jumper rolled down and he stubbornly pushed it back up his elbow.

“Don’t worry Ed, I got it, it’s partially my fault,” Eleanor told him, tentatively walking over to the green blob in the darkness. She tripped over Harry’s white converse, and cursing, she finally made it to the bed. Ed was giggling from her clumsiness and she flipped him off, regardless to if he could see it in the darkness. She flipped on Harry’s bedside lamp, sitting down next to him, the bed dipping a bit under her weight.

“You alright, Haz?” she asked, wanting to pet his head, but not sure which part of the lump was actually his head, so she paused with her hand midair before drawing it back.

“Go away,” he mumbled, his voice muffled by the fleece in the blanket he was under.

“Harry, seriously,” Eleanor huffed, yanking the covers from his head. He scrambled for it again, but Eleanor held it out of reach. His hair was in messy tufts on his head, his eyes glaring at Eleanor, the green boring into her.

“You can’t be mad at me!” she cried, throwing her hands in the air, frustrated.

“I’m not,” Harry sighed, picking at a loose string on the blanket, “I’mjustembarrassed,” he said quickly.

“What? At what happened in the coffee shop?” 

Harry nodded feebly.

“Harry, you should see it as a good thing! Yes, Stan was a dick, but Louis stood up for you! Didn’t you see that? He asked you to sit down with him!” Eleanor explained, an encouraging smile on her lips.

“I looked like a fool,” was all Harry said, burying his face back into the pillow, “I’m never leaving this room. You’re going to have to drag my dead body out of here when I die of humiliation.”

“Stop being so overdramatic, you sound just like Lou,” Eleanor rolled her eyes, crossing her skinny arms over her chest.

“So let me get this straight,” Ed started from the bed, making both Eleanor and Harry jump, since they forgot he was even in there, “Harry has a crush, I’m guessing? Who is it, eh? Is it that Nick guy in our communications class?” He waggled his orange eyebrows at Harry and he blushed.

“No, his name’s Louis,” Eleanor piped up, “and he’s two years older.”

“And _straight_ ,” Harry huffed. Eleanor bit her lip; it took all of her strength not to yell at Harry to stop being so oblivious and that yes, Louis was gay! Yet, maybe it wasn’t so oblivious, since Louis was so deep in the closet he didn’t even realize he was gay yet.

Ed looked at Harry sympathetically. “If it’s mean to be, it will be,” is all he said, giving Harry a reassuring smile and turning back to his notes. Ed of course always teased Harry, yet it was obvious he really cared about him. And it was weird; he could be all teasing one minute, then the next he’s be pulling some poetic deep stuff out of his arse, making everyone around him think. She’s never seen or heard them, since apparently he’s shy about his work, but Harry had told Eleanor about the fact that Ed writes music, and that his songs are really poetic and deep. She hoped Ed would show her one day; she also made a mental note to look him up when she got home, hoping he made it somewhere musically in the future.

A comfortable silence came over them, just the sound of Ed’s pencil scribbling over his paper. It was a minute before Ed’s head popped up and he grinned. “So who wants pizza?”

 

-

 

“You better thank me ten times over for this El,” Zayn’s voice woke Eleanor up from her peaceful sleep. Groaning, she rolled over, cursing at the fact that Zayn was actually up early, since the bloke usually slept until dinner time. Her dream was nice too; she was back in her own bed, giggling about the whole mess she’s in now with Cher and they were throwing grapes into each other’s mouth, a game they always did at lunch when they were bored. It was so normal that Eleanor’s heart yearned for it, yet here she was, still in 2013. And apparently, Zayn thought it was okay to wake her up at 8:00 in the morning. 

“Thank you for what?” she finally croaked, her face buried in a pillow, “waking me up at this ungodly hour?” She could barely breathe with the pillow going up her mouth, but she didn’t want to face the light that was undoubtedly in the room now, as she heard Zayn lifting the shades in his room. 

“No, dumbarse, I got you into my lit class!” he exclaimed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“And this is good news because…?” Eleanor prompted, popping her head up a bit. Her eyes were squinting, trying to find Zayn in the brightness. She didn’t even need to look in a mirror to know her hair was in a knotty mess on her head; one look at Zayn’s amused expression when he came into focus was confirmation enough. 

“ _Because_ Harry and Louis are in my lit class too,” he explained, impatiently, “We can keep an eye out for them. Maybe that’s the class they get partnered up in.” Eleanor could see where Zayn was coming from, but she’s not sure if being in the same class as them would help. Yeah, she could keep an eye on them, but since she was both friends with them, she wouldn’t know if this would create difficulties. She wasn’t in the class in the past, obviously, so would it do more harm than good?

“I guess,” Eleanor said, uncertainly.

“You guess? Come on El, what could go wrong?” Zayn raised an eyebrow, “if they start going off course, you’ll be right there to steer them back again.”

“You could do that,” Eleanor pointed out.

“Yeah, but I’m not friends with them,” Zayn countered, “now come on, get dressed! Class is in a half hour!”

“A _half hour_!” Eleanor exclaimed, hopping out of bed, “you twat! Why didn’t you wake me earlier?!”

“First grumbling about waking her up too early, now too late, I can’t win…” Zayn grumbled, and Eleanor huffed in reply, grabbing her towel and slamming the bathroom door extra loud to spite him.

 

-

 

When Eleanor arrived at her lit class, she was out of breath, her hair in a disarray, her bag falling off her shoulder… but worst of all she was late. She was burning bright red with embarrassment as she came into the classroom, interrupting what the professor was saying. All eyes turned to her, most confused at the interruption. Zayn’s eyes twinkled with laughter - as he got too impatient to wait for her and left -, Louis looked delighted she was in the class, and Harry smiled at her from behind Louis’ head, looking a bit confused but happy all the same. Niall smirked at her appearance as well, but to her disappointment she noticed Perrie and Liam weren’t in the class with them.

“I, um, sorry Professor, I’m Eleanor,” she blurted out awkwardly, shifting her brown bag on her shoulder, her face still hot. She didn’t know what to do, whether to take a seat or not, so she just stood there, her black lace up boots pinching her toes. 

“Oh, Eleanor, what’s your last name again?” the professor asked, seeming unfazed by the interruption.

“Um…” Eleanor couldn’t believe she wasn’t asked to come up with a last name yet, as no one had asked her, and she had to think quick on the spot. She knew she couldn’t say her real last name, for obvious reasons, considering it consisted of two boys in this very classroom. Cher’s last name? Lloyd? Eleanor Lloyd? She didn’t think it flowed. 

“Calder,” she blurted, thinking of Bobby’s last name, liking the way it flowed off her lips, “My last name is Calder.”

“Well, in that case, Eleanor Calder, I don’t mind you were late of course, just… sit down, don’t make a habit of it,” Professor Trawley, as her nameplate on her desk revealed, smiled from behind her round glasses, turning back to the class. Eleanor already liked her; with her bobbed brown hair and kind eyes, she seemed only about in her mid-forties, and it seemed she wasn’t determined to make Eleanor’s life hell as some of her teachers back home did. Especially Mr. Pivet, who gave Eleanor detentions every time she was late for class, even if it was by thirty seconds. She wanted to punch him in his round face most days, but she refrained herself, since she was not a violent person. Most teachers actually were fond of Eleanor, because unlike Cher, she didn’t like to break rules in school and be loud; she was actually pretty smart and did all of her work. In turn, Cher and Bobby lived off of her notes and homework, but she really didn’t mind.

She quickly made her way to a seat in the back, conveniently next to Harry, as he had a vacant seat next to him. He and Louis looked happy she was near them, as Niall was, and Zayn just laughed to himself from across the room. She could tell he didn’t care whether she sat next to him or not; he understood what she had to do to keep her fathers together. Louis still seemed to not notice Harry existed in the seat behind him, and Eleanor just wanted to pick Harry up and place him in Louis’ lap so he would stop being so oblivious.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were in this class, hmm?” Harry asked under his breath as she slid into the seat, dropping her bag on the floor with a huff.

“It was a bit of a last minute thing,” she whispered back, blowing a wisp of hair out of her face. She had a feeling she should be paying attention to what the professor was saying, but she was a bit preoccupied with the overwhelming gist of the university classroom. There were about fifty students in the class, all in sleek black desks, the atmosphere serious and more controlled than her school back home. She could tell Professor Trawley tried to make it not as bad, as she decorated the walls with bright colorful posters and maps, reminding Eleanor of some of the pictures in Harry’s dorm.

“….and I will be assigning you partners for this assignment, and don’t even try to convince me otherwise. And yes, that means you Tomlinson and Horan,” she smiled fondly at them and the class chuckled, neither of the two looking abashed. 

“What’s going on? I missed it,” Eleanor asked Harry, her eyes still on the professor.

“Lit assignment. Some partner research project. Wasn’t really paying attention,” Harry shrugged, drawing inked doodles on his notebook with a pen. She could have sworn she saw some hearts around a name, but Harry peeked up at her and quickly covered it with his cheeks a bit pink. He pushed his glasses up his nose farther and purposefully didn’t look at her. Eleanor could guess what the name was and she chuckled under her breath, earning a secret rude gesture from Harry.

“I’m going to be reading off your last names and that’s who you’ll be working on your project with for the next few weeks. No exceptions. Okay… Harrison and Craft….”

“Hope we get together, El,” Harry said, “I don’t know many people in this class. Zayn seems like a nice enough bloke. You’re related someway, right?”

“….Bentley and Wendell….”

Eleanor nodded, crossing her fingers that she got paired with Zayn. Or at least Niall; she knew she’d have loads of fun with him over the next few weeks. She looked expectant between Harry and Louis, because she knew that this is the project they got paired together with. It had to be, since they had no other classes together and they always explained how the project was huge. 

“….Malik and Pence….” Zayn looked up at his name and saw he was paired with a shy looking girl whose long dark hair covered her face, who blushed when she saw who she’d be working with. Zayn smiled at her, but it was apparently the wrong move, as she looked like she was about to faint from the gesture.

“….Tomlinson and Calder…” Eleanor’s eyes popped open and she froze. Did she hear right? Did she pair her with Louis? No… it couldn’t be… this is where he was paired with Harry and they started to fall for each other. No, no, _no!_ Louis turned around and grinned at her, clearly happy they were put together, and under normal circumstances, she would have been. But instead, she just felt sick to her stomach; she was hoping it didn’t show on her face as she offered him a weak smile. Zayn’s eyes were wide as saucers from across the room, looking horrified. Harry looked a bit disappointed, but he was clearly trying to mask it.

”No!” she exclaimed before she could stop herself. Louis’ smile fell from his lips, a flash of hurt crossing his face.

“Excuse me?” Professor Trawley inquired, her glasses slipping down her nose a bit.

“I… mean, I counted the amount of people in the room and there’s an uneven amount, so I was thinking it’d be more fair if we had three people in our group because I’m new here so I need all the extra help I can get,” she laughed nervously. She gave Louis a reassuring smile and he returned one, a bit weaker, but genuine nonetheless. She was surprised that lie flew out of her so quickly, and by the fact it actually seemed plausible.

“Oh, I see your point,” Professor Trawley nodded, scanning the room, “now who to put you with....” 

“What about Harry?” she suggested lightly, putting on her most dazzling smile.

“Er, I guess,” Professor Trawley shrugged. She knew that if they messed around it was their own project and their own fault. Eleanor almost yelped with joy; she just hoped if Louis flirted with her, it would be toned down. It already had been dwindling, since he knew by now Eleanor didn’t like him like that, but she was pretty sure he still had a crush on her. Which still creeped her the hell out.

Harry looked relieved, and a bit nervous as he snuck a glance at Louis, taking in his profile, his glimmering eyes, and Harry visibly gulped.

Eleanor clapped her hands together as the teacher was still rattling off names, “so! Do you guys want to meet at Zayn’s dorm? He’s out a lot and I can order a pizza while we work. I think we should get started right away.”

Harry bit his lip and nodded, still too nervous to say anything, and Louis was back to his old self and grinned at her, “of course! When have I ever said no to pizza? It’s obviously not going because we’re friends; I’m only in it for the pizza and good grades.”

“Who said I get good grades?” Eleanor raised an eyebrow as Harry giggled quietly at Louis’ lame joke. He fucking _giggled._

“Well, no one, I’m just hoping because I’m an idiot,” Louis shrugged, and this time Eleanor joined in on Harry’s laughter. That’s when the bell signaling the end of class decided to go off, and the classroom was filled with the sounds of students shuffling around, grabbing their belongings, material brushing against material as they slung their bags on their shoulders and shoved books into them.

“Meet at my dorm at six, okay guys?” she said finally, picking up her own bag. It was basically empty, aside from one notebook, since she wasn’t in any other class. If this project ends up being a lot of work, she’ll be pissed at Zayn for dragging her into this. She almost messed everything up again, but she was glad she got Harry put into their group. If she was alone with Louis, no progress between the two of them could happen. 

With that, she gave them a two fingered salute and headed towards the door, ready for another day of lounging around the dorm. Once she got there, she debated on whether or not to watch Friends again, but instead decided to do a bit of exploring around the dorm. Not that she expected much, but she was curious to see if there was something interesting she could dig up. 

She noisily dropped her bag by the door and untied her boots, discarding them at the foot of the bed, heading towards the closet. The shuttered white doors opened with a creek, Eleanor having to yank a bit to get them open, no doubt something inside was blocking them from opening easily. Inside, she located an easel, a large sketchbook, and buckets and buckets of paint. Some of it was splattered on the sides of the boxes, standing out among the gray color. Eleanor didn’t know what she was expecting, but the sight of the paint made her excited. She loved Harry’s work, the way he blended colors and shapes together to form his thoughts into art that his words alone could never express. Zayn was talented too, from the art pictures she snuck peeks at whenever Zayn was painting. She had to sneak because Zayn didn’t like showing his work; he was rather self-conscious about it, even if it was phenomenal. She was sure hers would be awful compared to theirs, but she was excited to paint nonetheless.

She hummed a tune to herself, dragging the painting supplies out of the closet. She tongue poked out a bit to the side as she thought about what colors she wanted to use. Thinking about the things she could paint, she decided to go with abstract because anything else would require talent that Eleanor didn’t possess. 

She grabbed every color she saw and the first paintbrush she saw, a big flat thick one stained with paint from overuse, and started to paint swirls and swirls of colors over the paper. She turned on the radio with her big toe, stretching over to it and pressing the button, it already programmed to the channel she liked. Which, of course, was the newest pop songs of the time. Although, since she wasn’t from this time, the songs that came on were “new” in 2013, yet over twenty years old for her. But her dads always put on the “oldie’s” station in her house, which she rather enjoyed, so a lot of these songs were familiar to her.

Eleanor lost track of the time she spent painting, but she was enjoying herself, singing to the songs on the radio as loud as she could, no doubt disturbing the dorms near her; she just hoped that they were at class. 

Her phone beeped, signaling a new text, and Eleanor wiped her hand on a paper towel before reading the text, which was from Harry.

**Harry: eleanor please please help i dont know what to wear!!! i dont want to look too fancy or anything but not like a slob? im freaking out and ed just keeps laughing at me hes no help!!**

Eleanor chuckled to herself at how cute Harry was being, fussing over what to wear to a simple project hangout. 

**Eleanor: hmm id say something casual but still fashionable because lou’s not too keen on sloppy fashion i reckon. definitely wear a white tshirt cause you look hot in those. um do you have a green beanie? i think it would really make your eyes stand out and be all big and pretty. wear your black jeans too they make your non-existent arse look a little better :-)**

She chuckled at her own joke before the reply came not a minute later. She figured he was by his phone, frantically pacing and waiting for her reply so he could get ready.

**Harry: fuck off about my arse! but yeh i do have a green beanie so ill wear all that thanks el youre the best!!!**

Eleanor smiled, putting her phone down, hoping that today would go well. Meanwhile, she got back to her painting, hoping that would turn out well, too.

“Here comes a favorite of the moment, here’s Heart Attack by Demi Lovato!” the radio host’s voice blared through just as a song ended. Eleanor smiled to herself, giggling, thinking about how older Harry told her when the boys used to tease Niall on the huge crush he had on Demi back when he was young. She shook her head, getting back to the colors swirled on the paper.

“So I’m putting my defenses out, cause I don’t wanna fall in love, if I ever did that, I think I’d have a heart attaaack!” she sang off key, wiggling her hips a bit. She heard a laugh from behind her and she wheeled around, nearly knocking over the red paint bottle at her feet. Louis was standing there, looking on amused, and Eleanor felt her face heat up. She quickly turned off the radio.

“Um, how long have you been there?” she asked him.

“Just walked in, saw Zayn in the hallway and he told me to go straight in,” Louis shrugged, laughter still dancing in his blue eyes, “you’re the next Demi Lovato, are you not? I can see the resemblance in that long brown mane of yours. You could be twins. Siamese even.”

“Don’t even start Tomlinson,” she threatened, starting to pick up her supplies, already used to his weird inquiries, “is it really six already?”

“Quarter of,” Louis corrected, “my class ended early, so.”

“Ahh,” she hummed in response, busy cleaning up everything. 

“So, I have a question,” Louis started after a moment of silence.

Eleanor looked up. “Yes?” she asked, weary it was going to be another date suggestion.

“How come you were so eager to have another partner? I mean I thought we were cool. I… I know you don’t like me more than a friend, and I’m willing to accept that, but it’s not like we can’t be alone, I wouldn’t force anything on you like that…” he said, looking at her sadly.

Eleanor felt her heart drop. She didn’t want Louis to think she was avoiding hanging out with him alone, because she knew he wasn’t like that. She enjoyed his company, she just needed him to be with Harry, but of course he wouldn’t understand that.

“Oh no no Lou don’t you dare think that!” she exclaimed, almost tripping over a box and going over to him. He looked a bit startled as she threw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. He waited a moment before wrapping his arms around her, leaning his head on hers. 

“Louis, I would never think that way,” she said, “what I told the teacher was the truth. I really think I need all the help I can get and I heard Harry was pretty smart from Zayn.” She didn’t bother explaining they were already friends, because she knew that Louis probably already figured that out. “You’re one of my best friends, I always have the best times with you, seriously. I would never feel uncomfortable.”

“Thanks El,” Louis’ voice came from above her, and she could feel his throat vibrating against her head as he spoke softly.

Just then, there was a timid knock on the door, which Eleanor expected to be Harry. She hoped he had listened to her advice on what to wear, because she really wanted him to make a good impression on Louis tonight. She also hoped her presence would make him come out of his shell a bit.

Eleanor walked over to the door and swung it open, revealing that Harry indeed was wearing exactly what she told him to. It looked better than she thought; his eyes really did look sparkly and huge, standing out amongst his black rimmed hipster glasses that he always wore, and the few curls poking out of the green beanie were endearing. His defined arms were showing well with the way he rolled up the sleeves a bit, and the black jeans were a nice touch. Eleanor mentally patted herself on the back and grinned at him.

“Hello Harry,” she said, opening the door wider to allow him to walk in. 

“Hey El,” he nodded, looking nervous, slipping past her. 

“So we’re lucky because Zayn is out, so we can be loud and obnoxious in here, which is actually what I’ve been doing all day, so,” Eleanor chuckled, hopping over some of the mess she made. 

Harry didn’t notice Louis yet, his eyes surveying the paint, interested. “El, you paint? How come you never told me?” 

Eleanor scoffed. “Me? Paint? This was for fun Harry, me and paint don’t mix.”

“Unless you count the paint smeared all over your face, then you do mix technically,” Harry snorted. Louis’ loud laugh interrupted them and Harry almost jumped out of his skin, forgetting Louis was even supposed to be there. Louis was on his phone, no doubt texting Niall something stupid, not even looking up as he laughed. 

“Oh, er, hi Louis,” Harry awkwardly forced out, his cheeks pink.

“Hi Harry,” Louis looked up, smiling. Then he got a good look at Harry and you could physically see his eyes widen, his jaw drop a little, his eyes flickering up Harry’s body before meeting his big green eyes. Louis looked flustered, almost like he wanted to blatantly check out Harry again, but he ripped his eyes away and focused on Eleanor. She was having a tough time keeping the amused smile off her face at the fact Louis was blushing at his obvious checking out and Harry was blushing at being checked out by Louis, so the two of them both just looked flustered and red. 

“So,” Eleanor clapped her hands together, “let’s get started shall we?” She led them over to the coffee table Zayn invested in that was in front of the shabby checkered couch in the dorm. She swept some of Zayn’s books off of the table, making room for their book bags and notebooks. 

“What is the assignment even about?” Eleanor asked sheepishly, “I was a bit preoccupied with being mortified at coming late to pay attention.”

“Well, we just finished reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult,” Harry explained, pulling it out of his book bag, “Basically all you need to know is there is this kid Peter who got bullied his whole life and one day he snaps and brings a gun to school, going around shooting for nineteen minutes, hence the title. We have to go into depth about how one of the characters are similar and different to our partner, basically just your average comparing and contrasting elements to incorporate into our papers. It shouldn’t be too hard I reckon.” Harry shrugged then, flipping through his book to point out some main characters. “You have Josie, who used to be best friends with Peter before she became popular and ignored him, you have Matt, who is Josie’s boyfriend who is a total arsehole who is the one who bullies Peter, you have Alex, Josie’s mother who is the judge who is very hard working but neglects Josie a bit, and Lacey, Peter’s mother who is compassionate and a great mother. And you have Peter, a smart kid who just had the worst luck in being the center of the bullying. It’s truly tragic because who’s side do you pick when Matt is basically a murderer by killing Peter’s soul and personality through his cruel actions and words, killing who he wants to be, and you have Peter who physically murders Matt through his gun, killing the man who metaphorically killed Peter’s mind. It’s really a twist on morality because who is in the wrong? They’re both murderers essentially.”

Louis and Eleanor were quiet for a minute, staring at Harry after his speech, who then turned a nice shade of scarlet.

“Sorry, I er, get too into the novels I read,” Harry awkwardly laughed, shutting the book and placing it on the table.

“No Harry, that was brilliant, are you going to be a novelist or something? Write books and theories? Because wow Harry,” Louis smiled at him, and Harry flushed darker under Louis’ attention and praise.

“So how are we supposed to do this with three people?” Eleanor asked, eyeing the book cover. It showed two people holding hands tightly, their fingers intertwined. 

“Well, I’ll ask Professor Trawley tomorrow if the third person needs a different role or something. Maybe you can monitor us because you didn’t read the book so it might be a little difficult to do your paper,” Louis pointed out, sticking the end of a blue pen in his mouth thoughtfully.

“True. For now, we should start by getting to know each other I guess,” Eleanor suggested, “we can’t write a paper about each other without knowing one another. I mean I know both of you pretty well but we can still go over everything. I’m gonna get changed first though, because this outfit it super uncomfortable, so you two can get started, I’ll be right back.” She hopped up off her place on the couch and headed over to her clothes, which were still in the bags she shopped for them in. She peeked over at Louis and Harry who didn’t seem to know where to begin and she rolled her eyes, walking past them to the bathroom. If they did it by themselves before, they can do it by themselves again.

Eleanor got changed into black baggy sweatpants, keeping her ear pressed against the white door to eavesdrop on their conversation. So far, they weren’t talking, which was really frustrating her. Was she supposed to molly-coddle the two the whole way? 

“So,” Louis started, his voice muffled by the door, “we should start with our interests, because like Peter had interests in computers and stuff, so it can help or something.” He sounded uncertain, like he didn’t want to sound dumb in front of Harry, which was so cute. Little did he know that Harry praised the ground he walked on; Louis could say the world was square and Harry would nod along, agreeing, thinking Louis was the smartest person on the planet.

“Yeah, sure,” Harry replied, and Eleanor could basically see the nod he was doing through the door. 

“I’ll start,” Louis said, the couch shifting under his weight, “I love little kids. Not in a creepy way, but I like how innocent they are, how they see the world through a different light than adults. I um, I don’t like walnuts but I love cashews because the texture of walnuts are weird, and I love… well… nevermind.” At the last part, Louis sounded a bit flustered.  
Eleanor could picture Harry’s intrigued expression, his eyebrows furrowed together. “You love what?”

“It’s nothing,” Louis mumbled. Eleanor strained to hear against the wooding.

“Louis, you can tell me anything, I won’t judge. I’m pretty odd myself, so maybe we’ll have it in common,” Harry said earnestly.

Louis sighed. “Okay, I love theater. I explained this to El one time… I just love the feeling of the world melting away when I’m on stage, singing or acting, being someone else and forgetting my problems. It probably sounds so stupid.”

“No Louis, I understand,” Harry said, “it may be a bit different, but I paint to make the world melt away. I can be in there for hours, staring at the artful colors and forget where I am or any problems I’m facing and it’s just okay.”

“Yeah, exactly.” Eleanor could hear the smile in Louis’ voice when he said that. “You don’t think I’m weird for being a guy and liking theater?”

“No,” Harry said, almost too quickly, “I think it’s cool you do what you want and don’t care about what people think. Even if your friends might talk.”

“You’re talking about Stan, aren’t you?” Louis asked, his voice softer. There was a pause which Eleanor could guess was Harry looking away. “Look, Harry, I know Stan is a total dick. After what happened in the coffee shop I haven’t hung out with him since, honest. I don’t want to associate myself with people like that. What he said was wrong, and I’m really sorry you had to go through that.”

“S’not your fault,” Harry said, probably shrugging, “and he is a dick, isn’t he?”

“Did you see his douche bag haircut?” Louis giggled, making Harry join in.

“It is pretty douchy, kind of like peacock feathers or something. I don’t know. Some weird fucking bird,” Harry replied, making Louis laugh loudly.

“A peacock? _Seriously?_ ” he laughed again, “god Harry you’re gold.” Eleanor wanted to see their progress, so she cracked the door open a bit, so she had a good view of the two of them on the couch. Harry was positively beaming, but this time, so was Louis. They were a lot closer on the couch than where Eleanor left them. She didn’t want to make her presence known just yet to break the moment, so she settled there, her view still good, convincing herself it wasn’t creepy because it was her dads.

“Did you know that he cried one time when he accidentally ran over a squirrel in the road?” Louis asked after their laughter died down.

“Seriously? And he tries to act all tough,” Harry shook his head, his beanie flopping a bit. 

“I know, right? But oh, where did you get that beanie by the way? Not to change the subject but I'm a big fan of beanies myself and I'm always looking for new places to buy them,” Louis asked. 

“My sister, Gemma, got it for me” Harry smiled, “Not sure where though. Probably some place nice. Ever since she got a new job she’s been spoiling my mum and I rotten, not that I’m complaining.”

“Oh, so it’s just you three then?” Louis asked, crossing his legs pretzel style on the couch. Harry stifled a smile at it, probably at the fact that Louis looked all small and adorable like that, but he didn’t mention it.

“And my step dad, Robin. My parents divorced a while ago, but Robin’s nice, so it’s okay,” Harry shrugged.

“My parents got divorced too,” Louis nodded, “it sucks doesn’t it? One moment they’re totally in love, and the next one is moving out, fallen out of love. I don’t get how you could just fall out of love.”

Eleanor felt a surge of anger in her, how dare he say that? She wanted to scream at him, yelling that he himself fell out of love! If he was so hurt by his parents, how could he let himself get that way? Granted, it was more Harry, but they needed to work at it. Louis was giving up and she was so so mad at him for it. She remembered the divorce papers on the counter and felt nauseous. No matter what she did to get back to present times, she would still have two dads who didn’t love each other anymore who she loved very much.

“Me too,” Harry agreed, “so are you an only child, or what?”

Louis laughed. “I wish! No, I’m kidding, I have four little sisters though. They’re a bit of a handful, aka four little screaming monsters, but I love them.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Harry grinned, making Louis blush. Eleanor knew if it were her, Harry would have made a sarcastic comment and pinched her cheeks, but she guessed Louis didn’t get that sort of treatment because he was some god or something in Harry’s books. Plus, Harry was terrified of making the wrong move.

“Shut up, you jerk,” Louis stuck out his tongue at him. Harry looked at his tongue longer than necessary before blinking hard and focusing on Louis’ eyes again.

“I wonder what is taking Eleanor so long,” Louis mused, tapping his chin, “maybe she’s taking a dump.”

Harry guffawed at that, joining in. “Or maybe she fell in the toilet.” Eleanor rolled her eyes, but Louis’ answering laugh made her happier.

“Or maybe she slipped and fell into the shower and took the whole curtain down with her,” Louis giggled, Harry joining in.

“Or _maybe-_ “

Of course at that precise moment is when Eleanor decided to inch closer, but being her clumsy self, she tripped over the bottom of her sweatpants. With an undignified yelp, she fell to the floor, catching her fall with her hands, burning them a bit on the rug.

The conversation halted. “El?” Louis’ voice came from the couch where Eleanor lost her view with her face full of rug, and she cursed herself for ruining their bonding moment. She could hear the laughter in his voice though.

“Yeah,” she called weakly, “I’m fine. Sweatpants are long, that’s all.” With that, she heard two loud laughs from the couch, and she rolled her eyes. “I’m glad my pain amuses you all,” she grumbled as she pulled herself up off the floor.

“Aw hush El, we just find your clumsiness endearing,” Louis chuckled, patting the space next to him on the couch, gesturing for her to sit down, “like a baby deer.”

“What even took you so long?” Harry asked from his seat on the coffee table, some papers squished under his butt. Him and Louis looked at each other and giggled, no dout thinking of their earlier scenarios.

“Called my friend Cher from back home,” she said the first thing that came to mind, her voice a bit defensive. She would never fall into the toilet, mind them. That lie made her heart sink, though; no matter how much she loved Perrie and the guys, she missed Cher dearly.

“Sure, sure,” Louis smirked, his eyes flitting towards the other side of the room, “oh shit! Is that the time?” he suddenly exclaimed. Both Harry and Eleanor’s head snapped over to the digital clock under the tv, where blared 6:30. 

“Um, yeah, that clock’s working,” Eleanor replied, sighing at Louis’ tone. She had a feeling he had to go based on the urgency. 

“Shit, I gotta go, I promised Liam I’d help him practice his speech for tomorrow in his communications class,” Louis frowned.

“You just got here though!” Eleanor protested. It had only been a half hour! 

“I know, I had already promised when you propositioned us to get together tonight, I just thought we could get it done quickly. I wish I didn’t have to go now though…..” Louis glanced at Harry, biting his lip, and looked like he genuinely didn’t want to go. Eleanor could barely contain her glee at the fact that Louis seemed to be straying towards Harry more than her.

“Ah, go ahead, no worries. We’ll just do this again soon. Thursday maybe?” Eleanor suggested, getting off the couch and stretching her long legs. They did get started, even if the time was short that they talked.

“Yeah, perfect,” Louis smiled, grabbing his bag off the ground, stuffing a few papers inside it, “er, Harry?”

Harry’s head snapped up really fast from where he was staring at Louis’ bicep. It was really prominent in the dark blue tank top he was wearing.

“Yeah?” he asked, looking sheepish at his staring. It didn’t seem as if Louis noticed, though.

“It was nice actually meeting you,” Louis replied, one of his genuine Louis smiles coming up again, his eyes crinkling. Harry looked like he was going to pass out.

“Yeah… yeah you too… Louis,” Harry said faintly, watching as Louis walked out the door.

Eleanor waited for the footsteps to become out of earshot before she squealed. “Harry! You did it!”

He was blushing again, but he looked pleased. “Did I sound dumb?”

“No! Not at all!” she pulled him in for a great hug, “who’s gonna get laid?” she winked as she pulled away, making Harry flush deeper. The idea of them having sex didn’t freak her out anymore, since she refused to picture it, and think of them as her dads. They were strictly Harry and Louis at the moment.

“Hush Eleanor, just because we had one good conversation doesn’t mean that we’re going to shag each other. Also, I think you’ve forgotten that he’s still straight,” Harry rolled his eyes, pulling off his beanie and shaking out his hair. 

“Yeah, yeah, straight schmaight. Isn’t college when you’re supposed to experiment and shit?” Eleanor grinned.

“For your information I wouldn’t want to be Louis’ gay experiment,” Harry huffed, “even if I did get to run my fingers through his soft feathery hair and see him naked and touch his perfect bum and … oh god I need to sit down.” Harry slowly lowered himself onto the couch, making Eleanor burst out laughing.

“Well, we’ll find out next Thursday won’t we?” Eleanor wiggled her eyebrows.

Harry groaned. “You are officially the female version of Ed!”

“I’m offended,” Eleanor pouted, “I don’t sit on my arse all day drinking cheap beer.”

“Just you wait, next thing you know you’re going to invest in a guitar and dye your hair orange,” Harry said in mock solemnity. 

“I actually hate you,” Eleanor shoved him, “now make room. I say we call for a celebratory Friends marathon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you got through that wow thank you I'm sorry it was so long I guess I just couldn't stop writing hahaha


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to clear things up cause there was some confusion: Eleanor calls Harry "Dad" and Louis "Daddy" but usually only when they're old, and when they're young she usually just thinks of them as "Harry" and "Louis." Also, Eleanor is a surrogate, not adoptive, and I kind of imagined the one who donated was Louis because she seems a bit closer with him (although she's still very close with both and loves them both dearly)
> 
> Hope that cleared some things up!!

To Eleanor’s surprise, Professor Trawley was perfectly okay with her “monitoring” Harry and Louis on the paper. Eleanor was actually growing quite fond of the teacher; it really was a generous thing she was doing, considering she could have piled the project on her along with all the other students.

Wednesday rolled around, and as Eleanor was leaving her lit class, Perrie sidled up to her, a big grin on her face. She looked pretty today, her dyed hair loose and down, wearing a plain blue dress that was tight at the top and high cut, but flared out a bit at her waist.

“What makes you all smiley? Should I be worried?” Eleanor asked, making Perrie roll her big blue eyes.

“Ha-ha Eleanor you’re super funny,” Perrie said sarcastically, “no silly, I was gonna ask, what are you doing tonight?”

“I mean, I had a super romantic date with my couch, but I can see if I can reschedule. Why?” Eleanor retorted, jokingly.

“Well I have no early classes tomorrow and we haven’t had any one on one girl time in a while. Soooo I was thinking movie night at my dorm? Some old fashion slumber party shit with popcorn and everything?” Perrie asked, her eyes hopeful and alight. That actually sounded like a perfect night to her; Zayn wasn’t going to be home again, said he wanted to work on the machine more, so Eleanor knew it was going to be another lonely night by herself.

“’Course,” Eleanor grinned, “seven o’clock sound good?”

“Yep! See you later Elliekins,” Perrie blew a kiss, turning towards a separate stairwell to where her dorms were located. Because of that encounter, Eleanor’s mood perked up a bit, knowing tonight would be fun with Perrie, and tomorrow would be fun with Louis and Harry again. She just hoped it went as smoothly as last time. She’d need to get them alone again somehow… with her eavesdropping of course.

To make herself useful, when Eleanor got back to the dorm, she decided to actually clean up a bit. It was actually really gross the squalor that her and Zayn were living in; and she felt he deserved a nice treat after working so hard to fix the time machine for her. She blasted the radio again as she got together loads and loads of laundry, stuffing them into bins. She dusted off the furniture and picked up the trash littered on the coffee table, as well as some stray socks she seemed to find in the weirdest places. 

By the time seven rolled around, she was desperate for a break, happy that she had a place to relax. She blew a sweaty piece of hair off her forehead, getting am overnight bag together, finally starting the trek over to Perrie’s dorm. She hoped Perrie didn’t look cute; Eleanor during the hours of her cleaning somehow found herself in track shorts, a big gray t-shirt with a green tree on it, and her hair in a messy ponytail. She looked embarrassing, but she quite frankly didn’t care.

She knocked on the dull blue door that all of the dorms possessed, focusing on a chip in the paint when Perrie answered. To Eleanor’s relief, her hair was in a messy bun, she was wearing sweatpants with holes in them, and an overly big orange shirt. 

“Hey El!” she smiled, gesturing for Eleanor to follow in after her. Perrie’s dorm was not as plain as Zayn’s, yet not as decorated as Harry’s, but Eleanor liked it. There were pictures of her and friends on the wall, as well as intricate beads to cover the closet, and a nice leather couch in the middle of the room. She’d only been in it once before, but it was only for a minute or so, since the desired place for everyone to hang was in the coffee shop. 

“So!” Perrie started, clapping her hands together once, “I’ll make the popcorn and you pick out a movie?”

“Sounds good,” Eleanor nodded, heading over to the shelf full of movies of every sort. She could tell that Perrie and whoever her roommate was loved movies. It ranged from drama and romance to action movies with blood to horror and thrillers. She skimmed her pointer finger over them, setting sights on She’s the Man and pulling it out. God, she hadn’t seen that movie in forever. 

“We’re watching She’s the Man so you have to deal with it!” she called over the sound of the microwave popping the popcorn. The smell wafted over to wear she was sitting and the butter made her mouth water; she realized she really didn’t eat much that day in her frenzy to clean.

“Ah! Eleanor we’re the same person! I’ve been craving to watch that movie for weeks now but Jade never wants to!” Perrie replied excitedly, coming in with a huge bowl of popcorn. She threw a frayed pink blanket over them in the process.

“Jade…?” Eleanor asked, already diving into the big silver bowl.

“My roommate,” Perrie said around a mouthful of popcorn, “I like her a lot and I hang out with her and a few other girls sometimes, Jesy and Leigh-Anne, but they can be a bit much to handle. A lot of drama. Which is why I hang out with guys most of the time. And you. You’re not drama.”

“I hate drama,” Eleanor agreed, pulling her legs up onto the couch and crossing them, “that’s why back home I’d always hang out with my friend Cher. She’s a bundle of energy, but she’s down to earth. Doesn’t like drama and fake fronts.”

“I think I’d like this Cher,” Perrie nodded, “where do you even come from? I mean, you always talk about back home… but I don’t even know where ‘back home’ is.” The opening credits were rolling across the screen, but both girls weren’t paying too much attention to it.

“Oh, well I lived in Ireland for a while. But I was born in England, hence my accent,” Eleanor lied, hoping it didn’t sound too dumb. She wanted to stay broad, because with fewer details she was not as prone to make a mistake.

“Ah, how was Ireland? I’ve always wanted to go there,” Perrie asked, looking genuinely curious.

“It’s beautiful,” Eleanor found herself saying, “I just had to get away though.”

“Why?” Perrie frowned.

“I…. well it’s just, family issues. Boring stuff. You probably don’t wanna hear it,” Eleanor mumbled the last part, picking at a thread in the blanket.

“Oh, come on Eleanor I’m offended! Of course I’d want to hear it! What are friends for?” Perrie smiled. At that moment, Eleanor really thought she might burst out crying. Out of all the people she was going to miss, it was definitely going to be Perrie, because she knew out of everyone else, she’d at least see them again. When Eleanor got back to present times, Perrie would be doing her own thing, not even remembering Eleanor or her being in her life.

“Well, my dads are gay,” she started, hoping Perrie wasn’t against gays or anything. She paused, waiting for a reaction, but when Perrie’s face didn’t change, she continued, “and well, I found the divorce papers on the counter. I just… I don’t understand how they could just get a divorce like that. It’s not settled, but I mean they didn’t even talk to me about it. How could they just not love each other anymore?” Eleanor felt her voice shake and her nose burn the way it did before she cried and she bit her lip, trying to keep the tears in. This was supposed to be a fun sleepover, not one with Eleanor crying, so she felt bad for burdening Perrie with this. Perrie looked unperturbed, though, more upset than anything, and pulled Eleanor in for a hug. 

“I’m so sorry El,” she said into her hair, “that’s so awful. None of you deserve to go through that.”

“I just wish there was something I could do to have them really love each other again,” Eleanor sighed, calming down a bit and pulling away. 

“There’s nothing you can do, I guess, and I know that’s not what you want to hear but…” Perrie frowned, “just be there for them, I guess. No matter how hard it is for you, it’s really hard for them too. They don’t need you angry and scared in between, no matter how much you are, because they are too. They’re probably really scared and they need all the support they can get.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Eleanor sniffed, rubbing a bit at her nose, “look at me, I’m a mess,” she laughed.

“Oh hush, El, you’re fine,” Perrie smiled.

“It just sucks, you know? My dad is sleeping at my Aunt’s house like every night now, not even bothering telling my daddy what his problem is, and my daddy sits in his room crying himself to sleep and acts like nothing was bothering him the night before. It’s like they just walk around, acting like everything is fine, and they’re not honest with me or each other and it’s just so frustrating!” Eleanor continued, her anger surfacing.

“You’re right. Good relationships need to be based off of honesty. They need to be honest with each other and everyone around them, hell… they should even be honest with the world! Okay, maybe not the world, but you get my point. They should just tell each other what is bothering them, and maybe they could actually work it out.” Perrie started to say something else, but Eleanor wasn’t listening anymore.

Honest with the world…. Perrie was kidding but she actually had a point. The cogs in her brain were churning as she mulled this over. She remembered older Louis explaining how over the years, Harry had built resentment towards Louis with all of their lying and sneaking around and his desire to not be honest with his family and the world about their relationship. Maybe… maybe if Eleanor got Louis and Harry to come public, base their relationship off of being honest with everyone and themselves, then Harry’s resentment wouldn’t build up? And maybe her dads would be happy in the present and not get divorced?

“That’s it!” Eleanor exclaimed, interrupting whatever Perrie was saying. 

“What’s it?” Perrie looked taken aback at her exclamation.

“I, er, nothing, what you were saying I mean, you had such a great point,” Eleanor said vaguely. Perrie looked at her confused, but kept talking; something about a relationship she had in the past that ended awful because he was lying behind her back. 

Eleanor just knew that was the key to saving her dads’ marriage. She just needed a plan on how to make it happen. She’d tell the whole college they were gay herself if it meant her dads would be happy. She wanted to think about it another time, though, because she needed the quiet of the night and her thoughts to really form a plan. 

There was a lull in the conversation where Perrie took a sip out of the lemonade she was holding in her hands. Eleanor took this as an opportunity to talk about something else.

“Lighter subjects! What’s going on with you and Zayn?” Eleanor wiggled her eyebrows. She got the reaction she’d hope for; Perrie’s ivory skin flushed a deep red and she didn’t meet Eleanor’s eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said in a small voice, turning back to the movie, “wow, doesn’t Channing Tatum look super hot here?”

“Well, yes he does, but that is beside the point Perrie!” Eleanor exclaimed, exasperated, “why don’t you just ask him to hang out? Or I don’t know, at least talk to him?”

“Why would Zayn be interested in me?” Perrie asked in a quiet voice, “I mean, I’m loud and obnoxious and never shut up with an average brain, and he’s like this super smart sexy guy who is quiet and mysterious and I just” – she shrugged – “I don’t know. I just can’t see him liking me.”

Eleanor didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or scream – how could her friends all be so _thick?_

“Perrie, can I just say if you go up to him one day, and talk to him, you’ll be surprised at how much he’d like you?” Eleanor informed her. She was going to tell her everything Zayn says about her, how much he’s fallen for her, but she didn’t think that he would appreciate that, and she’s known Zayn for years so he comes first, so she decided not to.

“Yeah yeah,” Perrie sighed, “oh my god wait this is my favorite scene in the whole movie!” she exclaimed, turning back to the movie that Eleanor almost forgot about. Eleanor giggled at Perrie’s enthusiasm and turned to the movie, but she made sure to not forget about what Perrie had said as she settled back down onto the couch.

 

-

 

Thursday went by uneventfully, her and Zayn just messing around because his only class that day was really early in the morning, so he was back by time Eleanor got up. She told Harry and Louis to meet at her dorm again at seven, but she gave them a fair warning Zayn would be there. She knew he wouldn’t be dumb enough to spill anything, but she was still worried he’d be there to embarrass one of them or Eleanor herself.

By the time seven rolled around, Zayn and Eleanor sitting around an easel, but this time Zayn was the one painting. It already looked ten times better than Eleanor’s, an abstract sort of face, emerging from splatters of different shades of blue in between. Eleanor was jealous; it just looked so effortless to him when hers took forever and was still awful.

Louis just walked in again at seven, not that either of the two minded, hopping over a few bins to standing next to them.

“Oh, Zayn, that’s pretty,” he said, sounding like a little kid, leaning over to get a better look, “I knew you painted but this is really, really good. Picasso like, even.”

“Thanks mate,” Zayn flashed a smile at him before splattering more blue paint on the paper, “How did you know I paint, though?”

“Oh,” Louis blushed, “right. It’s just that El mentions you from time to time, so.”

“Eleanor mentions me, eh?” Zayn glanced at her, “better not be anything bad. I have a lot of dirt on her.”

A knock was heard from the door then, a timid sounding one that made Eleanor know it was Harry. She hoisted herself up to open the door, giving Harry a quick greeting as she turned back around to finish her conversation with Zayn. Harry closed the door behind him and walked in to join in on the conversation.

“No you don’t,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes, “if you think I’m embarrassed about falling off the bed the other week, you’re wrong. See? I just admitted it.” She stuck her chin up in the air a bit. 

“No you git,” Zayn laughed, “did you know you talk in your sleep?”

Eleanor felt the air whoosh out of her. She vaguely remembered her dad saying something about it in the past, but it hasn’t happened for a long time. Only when she’s upset, actually, but she’s usually alone when she does it. She had no idea she was doing it in front of Zayn. 

“What? I do not!” she protested, heat rising in her face.

“Oh, you don’t? Who’s Bobby then?” Zayn smirked at her. Harry and Louis looked on as if they were watching a tennis match, their heads snapping from Zayn to Eleanor, back and forth, left to right.

Eleanor’s mouth dropped. “ _No one!_ ” she raised her voice, it getting an octave higher from embarrassment. She now knew it was true; she didn’t mention Bobby to anyone here. She didn’t think it was necessary to talk about the boy when he was so far away and not as part of her life as Cher was. She didn’t even want to know what she was saying about him in her sleep.

“Okay, okay,” Zayn shrugged, turning back to his painting, “whatever you say, El.”

Eleanor was about to retort when Harry spoke for the first time, “Zayn, that is amazing, I just wow.” Eleanor turned around and he was staring at Zayn’s painting wide eyed. “The way you contrasted the colors but still create a sense of unity is exquisite. I’m Harry by the way,” he added at the end when Zayn looked up, looking delighted. 

“Yeah I thought the use of the different shades and tints of blue to create the monochromatic scheme would contrast nicely with the lighter colors of the face,” Zayn explained, looking happy to talk about art to someone that actually knew what they were talking about. Louis and Eleanor just thought it looked pretty, they didn’t know there were technicalities behind it.

She eyed the bottles of paint on the ground while the two of them droned on, seeing a dark green labeled “forest green.” Louis raised an eyebrow as she inched towards it but she smirked and raised her pointer finger to her lips, indicating he be quiet. He nodded and mimed closing a zipper over his lips, looking excited, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Yeah and the –“ Harry started again before Eleanor interrupted with a fake loud yawn.

“Boooring,” she sang, “look at you, you little art critic,” she added to Harry, reaching the paint on the ground, “here’s something to critique.” She smirked at him before grabbing the bottle of green paint, squirting some quickly on her fingers, and running the fingers down the side of Harry’s cheek.

His green eyes widened and he let out a yelp at the cold paint on his cheek and flinched away, making Louis clap and laugh with delight. Harry glared at her before grabbing a red on the ground and not even bothering to place some on his fingers, shot it straight towards Eleanor. She squeaked and jumped out of the way just in time, but Louis was unlucky to be standing behind Eleanor and got the full blow of it on his forehead. Harry looked horrified, about to splutter out a string of apologies when Louis laughed again, wiping it off.

“I’ll get you for that, Curly,” he smirked, picking up a purple and squirting it at Harry, a lot of it getting in his nose. He laughed and then let out a soft sneeze to which Louis looked endeared, like it was the cutest thing he’d ever seen, even though to everyone else it was gross with the purple paint leaking out of his nostrils.

“Guys, not my paint, you children,” Zayn scolded, teasing in his voice, but a note of seriousness. The other three looked at each other and smirked, nodding, before reaching for their own bottles of paint and squirting it all at Zayn together. Yellow, blue, and green splashed over his unsuspecting face, making him splutter in indignation. 

“Oops, my finger slipped,” Louis acted innocent. 

“Oh, it’s on,” Zayn looked determined, grabbing a fuchsia by his feet. 

That’s how all four of them ended up seizing bottles of paint, squirting it at each other and rubbing it on each other’s backs and shoulders. The dorm was filled with laughter and squeals and yelps, but none of them cared how loud they were being. Zayn dove behind the couch, seeking refuge, but Eleanor was quick and jumped right behind him, squirting him on the back of the head with orange.

“Not the hair!” he groaned, feeling the back of his head, his hand coming away tinged orange. Eleanor giggled, but then poked her head above the couch, seeing where the other two got off to. They were both around the coffee table, jerking left and right to try to get around it, before they were running around it in circles, both in fits of laughter.

“Zayn look,” Eleanor whispered, lowering her head a bit so she wasn’t as noticeable. Zayn poked his head up too, so only their eyes were hidden above the couch.

“Just give up Lou!” Harry called, faking right. There was a large pink splotch of paint on one of the lenses on his glasses, his gray shirt splatter in arrays of color.

“Oh yeah?” Louis, also drenched in paint, grinned before giving up on their dodging game and squirting the yellow across the table, right at Harry’s ear.

“You’re done!” Harry growled, but he looked happy as he ran over to Louis, tackling him to the ground, both of them laughing again, Harry’s glasses going flying. They rolled a bit before Harry ended up on top, his legs straddling Louis’ lap, Louis blinking up into Harry’s eyes, his hands pinned under Harry’s grip by Louis' head. The laughter died down as the two of them looked at each other, both panting heavily, their chests pressed together as they breathed. If Harry bent his head down two inches, their lips would be touching, his plump pink ones over Louis’ thinner ones. Eleanor could barely see the blue irises of Louis’ eyes, as his pupils were blown wide from want, both of them staring into each other’s eyes deeply.

“Holy shit,” Zayn whispered and Eleanor jumped, forgetting he was even there. Eleanor held her breath, waiting to see if they’d kiss, but then Louis got this scared confused look on his face. 

“I, um, we should probably find Eleanor and Zayn,” he coughed, his cheeks flushing, not looking into Harry’s eyes. Harry looked down at their position and blushed too, quickly getting up off of Louis, brushing imaginary dust off of his paint splattered shirt. He picked up his glasses and slid them back onto place.

“Yeah,” he said weakly, rubbing the back of his head, “yeah.”

Eleanor didn’t want to look as if they were spying, so she quietly crawled out from her place behind the couch towards the bed acting as if she wasn’t eavesdropping.

“There you guys are!” she exclaimed, almost too loudly. Both boys jumped, not noticing she emerged from the bed area. “I was looking for you when I got stuck under the bed. Zayn helped me though,” she lied as Zayn emerged from behind her, clearly getting the hint.

“Oh yeah,” Louis nodded, still looking confused and a bit frightened. He glanced at Harry and turned paler. Eleanor didn’t understand why Louis looked so frightened of Harry, because Harry didn’t do anything to him except playfully wrestle him.

“We should probably work on our project now,” Harry suggested, looking at the floor. 

“Yes! Project! Sounds lovely,” Eleanor squeaked, her voice doing that nervous high pitched thing again. Zayn snorted and she elbowed him a little harder than necessary before heading over to the coffee table, brushing her paint splattered hair out of her face, no doubt leaving streaks of purple.

The rest of the day was awkward – there was no other way to put it. They all got to know each other a bit better while Zayn was painting in the corner, soft rap playing in the background, some song with a girl with a big booty. Harry kept sneaking glances at Louis, but Louis kept not looking at him strictly, his knuckles white in a fist as he answered questions. They got a lot more done than they did last time, because they had more time, but it was still uncomfortable, and Eleanor didn’t really understand why. The only thing that consoled her was that Harry looked just as confused as Eleanor did, if not more, with a touch of hurt. 

And the only upside to the meeting was the fact that Louis and Harry had so much in common, which explains why they get along so well. They both loved different types of art, Harry admitted he loved to sing and so did Louis, they both loved musicals and more specifically, Grease, they both loved animals, Louis talking about his old dog Kippers that died a while back and Harry talking about the cat Dusty he saved from the side of the road (such a Harry move.) They both liked summer as their favorite season and both agreed that Italy is the best country to vacation at, and that salt and vinegar chips are the best chips out there. They also both liked indie music shit that no one else in their right mind would like, which got them in another long discussion, and they found out they were at the same Script concert years back, which was both their favorite band. Eleanor couldn’t help but realize a lot of this information wouldn’t help them on the specific task, but she wasn’t about to stop them, adding in her two cents every piece or so.

Anyone would think this wouldn’t all be awkward, that they would be delighted to find all of this out, and they were, anyone could see it behind both of their eyes, but Louis still had that tortured animal look on his face and Harry looked as confused as ever.

When night time rolled around, it was a relief to pack up their bags and have the boys head back.

Louis was almost out the door, when he turned around, Harry almost slamming into his back. “Um, oh by the way, you guys, including Zayn, there’s um, well, Niall’s having a party Sunday night, since we have no classes Monday for that professor convention thing. You should all come.” He wrung his hands together nervously, still glancing at Harry.

Eleanor looked at Harry who looked certain he wasn’t going, but he smiled at being invited anyway. “I’ll have to see,” he said vaguely.

“We’ll be there,” Eleanor said, “at least Zayn and I. But Harry will probably too,” she shot a significant look at him and he glared.

“A-alright,” Louis gave a weak smile, “I’ll see you then.” He gave an awkward wave to them all and left. Harry followed soon after, muttering a ‘we’ll talk about this later’ and left as well. Once the door shut behind them, Eleanor sighed, exhausted, and slid down the door.

“Long day?” Zayn asked from his spot in the corner, lowering the music a bit until it was just a hum in the background.

“You have no idea,” Eleanor whimpered, “I just don’t get it. What the hell happened? It started off so nicely and turned to complete shit after that wrestling match. Which I don’t understand because at the moment, Louis looked like he was going to jump Harry’s bones then and there.”

“See Eleanor, that’s exactly it,” Zayn said, not looking as confused and frantic as Eleanor felt.

“What do you mean?” she demanded.

“Haven’t you forgotten that Louis is straight? Or well, thinks he is? It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? His attraction to Harry freaks him the fuck out. He’s terrified to be gay, considering how you mentioned his family is homophobic. And I mean, even if they weren’t, thinking your straight and being attracted to another guy is one of the most terrifying thing a guy can go through. We grow up thinking being gay is wrong and here you have these unexpected feelings you don’t even know existed, and you think of all the consequences. Being called a freak by dicks like Stan, telling his parents, and overall just not being normal,” Zayn told her. 

Oh.

It made perfect sense to Eleanor. Why he looked terrified at the position they were in, looking all pale and scared every time he looked at Harry and his messy curls and green eyes. If she were Louis, she would be freaking the hell out as well.

“Well that makes sense now,” she nodded, plopping down on the couch. The springs creaked under her weight, not that she paid attention to it. “Just curious, how do you know all this? If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’ve gone through it.”

Zayn snorted. “You’re right you do know better. But my best friend back before uni went through it, told me all about it. I got made fun of for being friends with the ‘fag’ and I was called one myself. Not that I gave a shit. He was going through a lot, and I was his best friend, I would never have dropped him. I mean we’ve drifted since then, but we still keep in touch.” Eleanor’s heart warmed; Zayn really was a great friend. That must have been hard to go through that with someone, get slang yelled at you and not even be gay, yet he stuck by them. Her respect level raised a lot for him.

“Wow, that’s, wow Zayn,” Eleanor breathed, not sure how to put her thoughts in words. 

“Look, Louis just needs time to figure it all out. That was like a slap in the face back there, because he probably has had a little bit of thoughts for Harry, fleeting ones, but that was a major feeling and he just needs to recover from it. He’ll be fine the next time you see him, I’m sure.”

“Yeah,” Eleanor hummed in response, “you really are above your years, did you know that?” she grinned.

“Ah fuck off El,” Zayn laughed, flipping her off.

“I mean it!” she laughed back, “but if you don’t want my compliments then break my heart more why don’t you!” She headed towards the bathroom, grabbing a fluffy white towel on the way. “I’m gonna take a shower then head off to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“See you El,” Zayn smiled, “and don’t worry much about Lou, alright? He’ll come around.”

“I know,” she smiled before closing the door, heading towards a well-earned and well needed shower.

 

-

 

Friday flew by, Eleanor just hanging with Louis, Niall, Liam, and Perrie, as the five of them went bowling. It was a lot of fun, since a lot of the kids back at Eleanor’s school thought they were too cool to go bowling on a Friday night, but not these guys. Liam ended up winning, getting way into the two hundreds to everyone’s surprise. She and Louis brought up the rear, but the two of them messed around and danced and threw the ball at weird positions because they knew they were bad anyway. They laughed the whole time, making stupid jokes. 

Most importantly, to Eleanor’s surprise, Louis and Harry had acquired each other’s numbers, and they wouldn’t stop texting. They were becoming closer and closer, she could tell, each of them glued to their phones the whole weekend, both giggling and blushing as they read and typed, both giddy and happy. They even talked on the phone for hours at night, her overhearing Harry laughing and telling stories hushed on the other side of the room while she and Ed pretending they weren’t eavesdropping and watched movies. She was delighted that they became such close friends over one weekend, that they actually knew more about each other and were finding out how well they got along and how alike they really were, despite their social standings. It seemed as if the weird moment on Thursday was glossed over, and Harry told her that Louis told him that he got paint down his throat by the end and felt really ill, which is why he was acting weird, but Eleanor knew otherwise. She didn’t care though; if Harry looked relieved at that explanation, then she was fine with it.

Once Sunday rolled around, Louis said he was going to Niall’s early to help set up for the party, as was Perrie and the guys, so Eleanor decided to go to the party with Harry, Zayn, and Ed. Ed was going anyway, and when he heard the others got invited he got super happy.

“More people to convince Harry to go, eh?” he had grinned, elbowing Eleanor.

Harry of course put up a fight to the party, complaining that he didn’t really go to parties and they weren’t his thing, because he’s awkward and a light weight with alcohol and he doesn’t know anyone. To all of that, Ed and Eleanor argued with him, until he finally relented. Zayn watched the whole exchanged with an amused smile, and he was quickly entering the Harry and Ed group she developed. Zayn and Harry got along so well she was surprised they weren’t friends earlier. 

When it started to get closer to 9, the time the party started, Eleanor got dressed in one of her nicer outfits, a loose silky black tank top, light shorts, and a long silver necklace to go along with it. She added ankle boots as well; she wasn’t sure if the outfit was her style, but she thought Perrie would be proud and it showed off her long legs and made her look like she had a little more butt than she did. She wore her hair in waves down her back and didn’t put too much makeup on, just a bit more than she normally did, because a lot of makeup didn’t look good on her. She did put on a darker pink lipstick, though, to compliment her tan skin.

“Zaynie, let’s go, Ed and Harry are waiting!” she called, zipping up her boots.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Zayn grumbled, emerging from the bathroom, hand to his quiff, straightening it out. He looked good in light wash ripped jeans, black boots, and a plain black t-shirt. He looked a bit nervous, because this was his first party as well, at least big uni party, but he shouldn’t be nervous because every girl would be all over him tonight. Hopefully, he would gather the courage to talk to Perrie, as she would be there, obviously.

Eleanor whistled obnoxiously when he walked by and he rolled his brown eyes, gesturing towards the door. “Are we gonna go?”

“Yes Zayn,” she laughed, “so eager!” But truthfully, Eleanor was eager too, because she’d never been to a uni party before. Granted, these would be different than a uni party she would attend in 2036, but she didn’t care – a uni party is a uni party. She bounced on the balls of her feet as Zayn grabbed his leather jacket.

They headed off towards Ed and Harry’s dorm in comfortable silence, which Eleanor appreciated; she liked how with them there wasn’t need for constant chatter. They reached their door and Zayn knocked twice, stepping back as the door swung open.

“You guys better get in quick, Harry’s in melt down mode,” Ed said solemnly, but he had a twinkle in his eye of laughter. Eleanor walked in and sure enough Harry was on the couch, hunched over, his legs jiggling nervously. He looked good though, in a black t-shirt rolled up at the sleeves again, tight black jeans, and his paper plane necklace around his neck. His usual glasses were nowhere to be found, him deciding having them at a party could be fatal to them. His messy curly hair was styled a bit upwards and wow Louis was going to cry.

“I can’t go,” he mumbled as they approached, “Louis will be there. And alcohol. What if I tell him I’m obsessed with him?”

“Okay, shh, Harry,” Eleanor sat beside him, “you’ll be fine. I’m sure you won’t! And if you do, do what I always do, blame it on the alcohol!”

“Drunk words are sober thoughts,” he recited miserably.

“Mate, loosen up, seriously, you’ll be fine. Forget about Louis anyway. We can find you another fit bloke there that you can shag,” Ed said, coming in with two full handles of alcohol, the bottles clinking together. One was brown and one was clear – rum and vodka. Eleanor’s favorite was raspberry Smirnoff, but she would take whatever she would have. These weeks have been so stressful that she deserved a night of drinking and fun.

Harry blushed. “YouknowI’venevershaggedanyone,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What?” Zayn joined in, confused, “that was all jumble.”

“You guys know I’ve never shagged anyone, okay? Not even a girl! I’m a virgin! Okay?” he blushed furiously, burying his head deeper in his arms.

“So?” Eleanor comforted, “if it makes you feel better, I’m one too.”

He poked his head up. “Seriously?”

Eleanor nodded. “Mhm. I was gonna lose it with my boyfriend Bobby back home, but then I moved,” she shrugged, willing herself not to blush. “So what I’m saying is it’s perfectly fine. And you don’t need to shag anyone tonight.”

“At least get your tongue down someone’s throat though,” Zayn added cheekily, and Harry threw a pillow at him.

“So,” Ed clapped, “are we pre-gaming now, or drinking once we get to the party? I’m down for either. It’s at a frat house down the road, we can walk.”

Zayn frowned. “I thought Lou said Niall was having the party?”

“He is,” Ed nodded, “he’s part of a frat. Not one of those obnoxious ones with arseholes where he has to hang out with them all the time, but he’s in the house. Comes in handy for all of us wanting to party. Niall invites everyone – hell Niall just loves everyone he’s ever met.”

Everyone laughed at that. Eleanor had to agree; she’d seen the blonde boy talking to a new person every time she saw him on campus, making them laugh loudly at his crude jokes or vice versa. 

“I say we drink once we get there, though,” Harry said, “as nervous as I am, I don’t want to be a bumbling idiot the second I walk through the door.”

“True,” Ed agreed, scooping up the bottles again, “well then, let’s get on our way!”

They headed out the door, walking over to the frat house that only Ed has even been to; honestly, he was the only one that even went to parties. Well Eleanor did, back home, but that’s beside the point.

They stopped outside a brick house with white pillars in the front, splattered with some greek letters on the front. The party was already in full swing, the loud bass heard from outside, kids milling about on the lawn, red cups littered all over the ground. Harry visibly gulped.

“I have a game of Pictionary we can play back home,” he suggested feebly, hooking a thumb back towards the way they came. Ed nodded at Zayn, pushing the bottles of alcohol in Eleanor’s hands, and they both took one of his arms, dragging him towards the house, him squawking indignantly the whole way. Eleanor let out a loud laugh, following them into the fancy looking frat house.

When they walked in, the whole house was dark, save for some colorful lights spinning across the room, splattering across everyone’s faces, the black lights in the room also making people’s teeth glow. It looked there was floating teeth and the whites of eyeballs all around the room and Eleanor thought it looked cool.

“Oh, this is gonna look so sweet when I’m smashed,” Zayn smirked from next to her. He looked like the party scene is exactly what he’s wanted to do for a while. On the other side of her, Eleanor was surprised Harry’s face wasn’t glowing it was so white.

“It’s not the aspect of the party, which is partly is, but I don’t want to see Louis, bad things will happen I know it,” Harry’s eyebrows pulled together.

“Harry, he invited you, why would bad things happen?” Ed shook his head, his orange hair flopping.

“Yeah, you guys are good friends now, and I can hear you flirting like ten dorms over,” Zayn snorted, to which Harry glared at him heavily.

Just then, Louis emerged, looking disheveled, but all bright eyes and rosy cheeks. “Hey guys!” he exclaimed. He wasn’t wasted, but you could tell he was a bit tipsy, the happy drunk where you can just start feeling the alcohol.

“Hey Lou!” they all chorused, taking turned hugging the over eager guy. He was wearing a blue button down with the first buttons a bit open and rolled up blue jeans. She was pretty sure she could here Harry gasping at how good he looked, even if he was a bit rumpled from the alcohol.

“Once you guys are all nice and drunk we all have to go on the dance floor!” he exclaimed loudly over the pumping music, “dance like some Michael Jackson, or Mariah Carey shit!” Eleanor wasn’t even sure Mariah Carey danced, but she shook her head. 

“I don’t dance,” Eleanor and Harry said at the same time, and they looked at each other and burst out laughing. Louis didn’t look amused, though, and he put his hands on his hips.

“Yes you guys do, or you will at least, come on, let’s all go take shots! Get ourselves giggly and stupid and make ourselves totally regret it in the morning,” he suggested.

“I got some alcohol, if you want it. This rum has some apple cider shit in it,” Ed offered, holding the bottles in the air by their necks and shaking them back and forth to display them.

“Perfect,” Louis smiled, gesturing towards a fold up table set up with shot glasses and red solo cups. Ed poured a generous amount in five tall shot glasses, handing them out to everyone. 

“Chasers are for pussies, remember,” Zayn scolded Eleanor as she reached for a can of Coke and she paused and pouted at him. The Coke seemed really refreshing right now, especially of the thought of the bitter alcohol she’d have in a minute.

“Are you sure you can take all that, El?” Harry eyed her shot glass wearily.

“If you can take it, I can,” she smiled, and not waiting for anyone to prove herself, she threw her head back and knocked the whole amount of alcohol back in one gulp, only wincing a bit as the bitter taste slid down her throat. She slammed the shot glass on the table dramatically, and when she looked up, all of them were looking at her impressed.

“What, you think a little white girl can’t drink?” she smirked, leaning over and pouring herself another full shot glass. “On the count of three this time, one… two… three!” All five of them knocked back the shot glasses in one gulp, and the only person who sputtered a bit was Harry, his eyes bugging out.

“You alright Curly?” Louis asked, his voice hoarse from the taste. He was looking at Harry with that endearing look again, as Harry coughed a bit from the strong alcohol. 

“Fine,” he squeaked, his cheeks reddening – from embarrassment or the coughing, Eleanor didn’t know.

“Come on Harry, have another, you won’t get drunk any other way,” Ed nudged him, handing him another full shot glass.

“I…” Harry looked at it uncertainly, but Louis was staring at him with big hopeful eyes so he nodded, taking the shot, and gulping it down easier this time. He didn’t cough, just winced noticeably, but they all cheered anyway, and Harry grinned widely. “More,” he demanded, and they all cheered again, pouring more glasses.

Five shots later, Eleanor didn’t feel anything yet, but she knew she had to slow down or she would puke. The time with Cher where she spent the whole evening over the toilet bowl, running the sink water so her dads wouldn’t hear, puking her guts out from drinking too much, came back to her thoughts and she shuddered. Eleanor was a small girl, she had to watch it. She could handle the alcohol she had though, she was good with that. She wasn’t sloppy.

She could tell the alcohol had hit Harry already, because he was leaning in close to Louis and whispering in his ear, a dopey grin on his face making Louis laugh really loud, who was already really drunk as well. 

Eleanor shook her head at them, but the movements made her head spin. The alcohol definitely settled in her and a huge grin spread across her face. She glanced at Harry and Louis and could tell they should have alone time, so she went off to find Perrie.

“Eleanor! There you are!” Perrie exclaimed, a bottle of beer in her hands. She looked drunk too, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright, but she still looked really pretty in pink high waisted shorts and a tight, short, white bandeau. She pulled Eleanor in for an unnecessary tight hug, but Eleanor didn’t mind and laughed at the greeting.

“Look what I did to my hair!” she exclaimed, giddily. Eleanor glanced up and in her drunk state she didn’t even notice at first that Perrie dyed her hair to a silvery color that suited her even better than the pink hair, although the pink hair looked really good.

“Perrie I love it!” Eleanor grinned, “but you know who else would love your hair? Zayn!” 

“Wha..? Eleanor no!” Perrie protested, blue eyes wide. Eleanor didn’t care and grabbed her arm, and the two of them stumbled around to find Zayn. 

“Can we just get some air?” Perrie gasped after the second lap around the party. Eleanor pouted… where could he have possibly gotten off to? But she nodded, shaking her head longer than necessary, enjoying the way her head felt all light and fluffy.

They opened the door to the porch outside, where it was littered with a lot of white wicker furniture. The air was a lot cooler out here to Eleanor’s relief, and she was about to sit down when she noticed a figure smoking a cigarette over the porch railing, wearing a leather jacket.

“Zayn?” she slurred, coming up to him. He turned around with bleary eyes and smiled at her, holding up a red solo cup.

“Cheers,” he grinned, taking a swig of beer. He was clearly drunk but not wasted drunk, which was a good sign. “I just needed a breather. It’s so hot in there.”

“H-hi Zayn,” Perrie stuttered out, looking up at him from under her eyelashes, a shy smile on her face. Zayn’s eyes widened comically and his cigarette fell out of his mouth. He blushed and quickly picked it up as Perrie giggled.

“Hi Perrie,” he gave her a weak smile.

“We’ve met under weird circumstances last time,” she laughed, “so it’s nice to actually meet you.”

“Yeah,” Zayn said faintly, and Eleanor elbowed him to get him to speak up. She probably elbowed him too hard because he rubbed his side and glared at her, but she grinned at him, winked, and sauntered into the living room.

There she found Louis, which her immediate thought was that she hoped Harry was doing okay. She smiled at Louis as he walked over to her place by the wall.

“Hey El,” he grinned, “you look really pretty.” Eleanor wanted to groan; here he went again. She thought he was making progress with Harry because the flirting with her died down a bit.

“Thanks Lou,” she sighed, but he was leaning in close now.

“Pretty,” he murmured. Then, suddenly, he leaned in, his breath hitting her lips, and before Eleanor could protest, he closed his eyes and pressed his lips forcefully against hers. The only thoughts in her mind were screaming profanities as he tried to get her to kiss back, and she was in so much shock she didn’t push him off right away. When she got her bearings, she shoved him off, a little harder than necessary.

“Louis, what the hell was that?” she demanded, breathing heavy from being overwhelmed.

She saw his face crumble. “I don’t know, El, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I did that…” he looked away, “I’m just so scared.”

“Scared of what Lou?” she asked, confusion taking over her annoyance.

“I… I’m really attracted to Harry and it’s fucking terrifying! I don’t want to be, I just – I just don’t know what to _do_ ,” his voice cracked at the end, “I’m a boy and he’s a boy and Eleanor I’m not gay. I’m not gay, okay?” he seemed like he was trying to convince himself, “I thought kissing you would maybe help I’m so sorry you’re my friend El I didn’t mean to I’m sorry.” He looked like he was going to cry and Eleanor’s heart broke, so she grabbed him into a bone crushing hug.

“Shh, Lou, it’s okay, shh,” she comforted, squeezing him tight to her. “Go find Harry, okay? I know he’s been looking for you all night.”

“He has?” Louis perked up, his eyes still pricked with tears.

“Yep,” she smiled, “now go, Louis,” she nudged him a little. She noticed Harry by Ed and the two of them were having an animated conversation, and Harry threw his head bad and let out a really loud bark of laughter, his green eyes shining. Louis looked on with a fond smile. He looked back uncertain at Eleanor and she nodded him on. He took a deep breath and started walking towards Harry.

“Oh and Lou?” Eleanor called before he was out of ear shot. He turned around mid-step to see what she had to say. “Whatever happens, happens okay? Don’t let it freak you out. If you do, you could scare Harry away forever.” He nodded and kept walking over to Harry. Eleanor looked on and saw him come up to Harry, Harry visibly brightening when Louis made himself known by clapping a hand on Harry’s strong back. She grinned and shook her head, heading out to the kitchen for another beer.

“Hey El!” she heard a thick Irish accent from behind her and turned around to find Niall grinning.

“Hey Niall,” she smiled, trying to wrench open her beer bottle with no success. 

“Want help?” he asked, not even waiting for her answer before he grabbed the bottle and opened it with his teeth, the bottle making a loud hiss as it opened. This was probably funnier to Eleanor as it should have been, but his face was all screwed up funny as he bit it off.

“Thanks,” she finally got out, shaking her head before taking a sip. She enjoyed the taste of beer far more than hard liquor, so it was nice to have the refreshing drink in her hands, the condensation making her hand a little wet.

“How much do you want to bet I’ll get on the kitchen table and serenade you a song?” Niall grinned at her all drunk and happy.

“I wouldn’t make that bet because I know you will!” she chuckled. Niall grinned, as if she challenged him, and as the next song came on he hoisted himself on the table. He almost lost his balance on the way up, but Eleanor steadied him by grabbing his leg and people were starting to look now.

“Singing radio head at the top of our lungs with a boom box blaring as we’re fallin’ in love, got a bottle of whatever but it’s getting us drunk! Singing heeere’s to neeeever groooowin’ up!” he screeched, putting his hands on his hips and wiggling them around a bit, making the drunk people in the kitchen whoop and catcall at him. Eleanor couldn’t stop laughing at the absurdity, tears leaking from her eyes.

Niall grabbed her hands and hopped down unsteadily, almost stumbling, but he had a huge grin on his rosy face. 

“Niall! Come on body shots!” an unfamiliar guy with a buzz cut yelled and Niall cheered.

“That’s my cue! Unless you want to come…?” he suggested, wiggling this blonde eyebrows, but Eleanor shook her head.

“Go ahead,” she urged, “I’ll be fine.”

“Ah, okay, cheers El!” he grinned, almost tripping in his haste to get to the living room where the apparent body shots were taking place.

“Eleanor!” she heard from behind her again and turned around to see a flash of orange hair to see it was Ed. His gray shirt was wrinkled and had some mysterious wet splotches on it which she could only guess was beer – or what she was hoping was beer. His forehead had a sheen of sweat on it, but he didn’t seem to care.

“Hey!” she replied, sipping from her beer again.

“Harry and Louis were bothering me to go get you. They want to play beer pong with us,” he hooked his thumb towards the two of them, who were whispering to each other again. They were standing in front of a green ping pong table, the red solo cups contrasting brightly against them, already set up. Crushed beer cans were all over the table, their metallic blue color gleaming in the overhead light, as well as a few full beers for the game. Some people were milling about, waiting for the game to start to watch.

Eleanor shrugged. “Why not? Let’s go kick some arse.” As her and Ed walked up to the table, people were whooping loudly as Harry and Louis booed over them, giving them thumbs down.

“Let’s make the game more interesting,” Ed suggested, leaning over the table, it creaking under his weight. “A bet on who wins?”

“No, strip pong!” Louis suggested, not so subtly peeking over at Harry. Eleanor wouldn’t be surprised if Louis lost to just see Harry with less clothing on. His black t-shirt was already dipping low to reveal two swallow tattoos on his chest. The crowd around them jeered and laughed, agreeing with Louis. “I think some people want to see this curly one naked!” he grinned at Harry, making him blush.

Eleanor was about to protest, but Ed whispered in her ear, “El I won’t make you take anything off. Once I start taking off my clothes they’ll _want_ to start losing, no one wants to see this.” He gestured to his stomach.

“Oh hush!” she laughed, “but thanks Ed. I really don’t fancy getting naked in front of everyone.”

“Oi! You two hurry up! You guys go first!” Harry called over, waving his hands in the air, his necklace swinging back and forth.

Ed rolled his blue eyes, and then closed one, focusing on his shot, and sailing it into the cup that was at the tip of the triangle with a light splash. Everyone around them cheered Ed as he bowed dramatically and Eleanor joined in the clapping. The two of them chest bumped, pumping their fists in the air at Ed’s victory shot.

“Harry, take it off!” Eleanor called for Louis’ benefit, sending him a wink, so then everyone started chanting “ _Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry!_ ” before he sighed and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, slowly pulling it off of his head and tossing it onto the floor next to him. To say Louis was shocked was to say the least; Eleanor couldn’t blame him. She could see the attraction, even though obviously the attraction wasn’t there for her, as Harry had defined abs and strong arms, his abs sheen in sweat, his necklaces flush against his bare chest. Louis’ eyes were bugging out of his head, his pupils getting big again as they flickered up and down Harry’s chest. Harry didn’t even notice, as he was too busy at everyone cheering at him and trying to focus on keeping his blush off of his face. 

“A butterfly tattoo, really?” was what Louis decided on to say, dumbly. Taking up Harry's lower torso was a large, black, butterfly, it's wings spread wide. It was pretty ridiculous, but Louis was staring at it like it was the hottest tattoo he could have possibly gotten

“And four nipples!” Ed called from the other side of the table, and Harry flipped him off, making everyone laugh.

“Yeah, I dunno, I like… tattoos,” he shrugged, looking down at them himself, as if they magically changed since last time he saw them, his cheeks tinging with pink.

Louis gulped and nodded, turning back to the game, missing the cup completely, everyone jeering as he laughed at himself. “Looooou, we’re losing!” Harry pouted adorably and Louis pinched his cheek, giggling at him to stop. 

“Shh, young one, let ole Louis work his magic. We’ll end this game with our dignity, just you watch.”

The intense game went on for a bit, ending up with all three guys shirtless, Ed missing one sock, Louis and Harry missing both shoes, and Harry losing his belt. As it progressed, Harry had to take off his trousers to reveal his itty black boxer briefs, making everyone cat call him, Louis laughing the whole time until he ended up in his as well. They were both almost naked by the time Ed sank in another and the two forfeited, not wanting to be starkers in front of the whole party, all of them booing the two as they gathered up their clothes and hastily shoved them back on. Eleanor got out of the game unscathed, thanks to Ed’s promise and Harry and Louis’ lack of skill at beer pong, to a lot of the nearby guys’ disappointment.

There was a line of people who wanted to play after them so Ed and Eleanor took victory chugs of their beers and headed away from the table to join the rest of the party again, Ed slipping his shirt back on while he was walking.

The rest of the party was a blur; Eleanor was having so much fun it went by so fast. She had somehow made friends with Jade, Perrie’s roommate, by heading over to the dance floor and striking up a conversation with the girl. They had ended up dancing for a while, laughing and twirling each other as if they were great friends, singing obnoxiously to all the songs that came on. She also ended up playing a game of drunk Twister with Liam, which they both badly lost, both of them falling into a heap on the floor with tangled limbs as right hand on red twisted them up badly. 

She noticed that Harry and Louis were inseparable the whole night after the pong game, silly dancing on the dance floor, whispering in each other’s ears, laughing loudly at each other’s jokes, and basically just being attached at the hip the whole night. The two of them disappeared for a while to god knows where as well, but she had a feeling they didn’t even remember her being there. 

Perrie and Zayn got more comfortable with each other too, talking the whole night, dancing a bit. Perrie always had a twinkle in her eyes every time Zayn told a story and Zayn had a dopey grin on his face when Perrie did. It was almost too cute to watch, but she was thrilled with this improvement as well.

She was just about to go to the bathroom when a slurred voice came from behind her, pausing her in her path.

“Ellllie,” she heard the deep voice say, and she turned around to see Harry grinning at her stupidly, his arm slung around Louis’ shoulder, Louis smiling at her as well. Both of their hair was really messed up and their cheeks were flushed, lips red and swollen a bit, and Louis’ shirt was buttoned wrong, which it wasn’t earlier. Odd.

“Hey guys, having fun?” she asked innocently and Harry giggled, while Louis looked on fondly. You could tell he wasn’t half as drunk as Harry, who as he mentioned earlier, was indeed a light weight. He was, to put it delicately, smashed. Even more so than earlier from all the beer drank in beer pong. But Louis didn’t seem to mind taking care of him as Harry leaned all of his weight on Louis’ shoulder.

“Yes we are! I was just telling Louis that he’s pretty,” Harry grinned triumphantly, and Louis blushed but looked pleased.

“Were you now?” Eleanor giggled, not nearly as drunk as she was earlier. Say what you want about the girl, but she could handle her alcohol nicely.

“Mhm, his eyes are all twinkley. I like his bum too. Nice bum,” he added softly, biting his lip innocently and looking up at Louis who looked at Harry like he was the cutest thing on earth. The whole thing was sickeningly adorable, she had to admit.

“Well, um, it’s almost three, so I think we should get going Harry,” Eleanor told him, putting down her red solo cup on the counter. It only contained water, but she didn’t mind because she really didn’t want a hangover the next day and keeping herself hydrated would help.

“No,” he pouted, “I want to stay with Lou Lou,” he stuck out his bottom lip.

“Come on you oaf,” she laughed, prying his arms from around Louis’ neck. The task was hard, because Harry’s arms were long but very strong, and it was like prying a barnacle off a rock. Louis was laughing the whole time at Harry’s groaning.

Once she finally got him off, she shot an apologetic look at Louis who laughed, and said her goodbye to him, finding the others. It was hard to rip Zayn away from Perrie as well, although he wasn’t physically attached to her as Harry had been to Louis. Ed was also chatting up a pretty blonde haired girl Eleanor didn’t know, but he said a quick goodbye to her and then their group was off. 

Harry was skipping happily home, singing loudly to the amusement to the others, no doubt disturbing the whole neighborhood. He kept stumbling over his pigeon toes, worse now because he was definitely the drunkest of all of them, all of his singing words slurred.

“Oooh I wanna dance with somebody! I wanna feel the heeeaat with somebody! Yeaaaah I wanna dance with somebody! With somebody who loooooves me!” He screeched, throwing his arms out and spinning, making everyone laugh.

Once they got back to Harry and Ed’s dorm, Harry face planted onto the bed eagle style like a dead weight.

“Harry! You can’t just do that!” Zayn laughed as he shrugged off his leather jacket. Harry didn’t answer as he was already asleep to everyone’s amazement. Eleanor laughed fondly and walked over to him, pulling off his shoes and placing them at the foot of the bed.

“Hey Ed, do you mind if we sleep here? Our dorm’s a bit of a trek,” Eleanor asked, her eyes pleading.

“’Course. A bit cramped though. I’ll get blankets, Zayn and I can sleep on the floor and you can take the couch. I would let one of you sleep in the bed but Mr. Light weight over there is already passed out, so,” he shrugged, heading over to the closet and pulling out different assortments of blankets. He tucked one over Harry before setting up a bed for him and Zayn. He handed a blanket to Eleanor, who accepted it gratefully. She plopped onto the couch, placing the fluffy pillow behind her head and pulled off her boots, massaging her ankles from the pain of the heels on them. She knew she should be uncomfortable at sleeping in her party clothes, but her lids were getting heavy and before she knew it, she passed out with happy, light thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you the chapters would be getting extra long! Sorry for the monster again, but they'll probably all be really long from now on!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meant to post a chapter yesterday but couldn't find the time so here's the next one!

Eleanor was woken out of her peaceful dream from a loud groan from the other side of the room. She peeked one eye open, one side of her face still squished to the pillow. The room was out of focus for a minute before her eyes adjusted, and she realized the source of the groan was coming from the bed.

“Shut up,” she heard an annoyed voice grumbled from the ground, the voice thick with sleep. She was pretty sure it was Zayn, but she wasn’t completely sure. She tried closing her eyes again, but once she was awake, she was awake, and she sat up too fast, the room spinning.

“Ouch,” she mumbled, closing her eyes and willing for the room to stop its’ orbit. Once it did, to her immense relief, she didn’t have immediate signs of a hangover. Her stomach was a little sketched, but she knew it would calm down after she had some breakfast, nothing to worry about. And her head didn’t hurt which was a plus. She thanked herself last night for drinking all that water.

She glanced over at the bed where Harry was sitting up, still in last night’s clothes, cradling his head in his hands, still whimpering. He didn’t seem as fortunate as Eleanor. She noticed Ed wasn’t anywhere to be found, either.

“You alright, Har?” she asked tentatively. She stretched her limbs, hearing the satisfying crack before she got up and made her way over to him. He feebly shook his head.  
“Headache?”

“Whole body ache,” he replied in a scratchy voice. He looked up and looked very pale and small with his curls all tousled, “am I dead?”

“Oh no sweetie,” she laughed, sitting down on the bed next to him, jostling it a little with her weight. At the bed movement, Harry went green and mumbled something before sprinting to the toilet. The sounds of retching came from the bathroom and Eleanor sighed, knowing she had to go help him. Throw up didn’t really bother her; she didn’t enjoy it, obviously, but it didn’t make her queasy herself. 

She opened the bathroom door to see Harry hunched over the toilet, looking really big in the tiny bathroom with his lanky body. He groaned, leaning his head against the lid, not caring how unsanitary it was.

“Shh,” she comforted, coming over to him, rubbing his back a little, “you’re okay. Just let it all out.”

Harry answered by throwing up again, Eleanor politely looking away as she rubbed his back more. She was glad he wasn’t a girl, so she didn’t have to hold his hair back, like she had to do for Cher on many occasions. She thought she was good at holding in alcohol, but she wasn’t. 

“Just glad I didn’t do this last night,” he mumbled, sitting up. Eleanor hummed in agreement, ripping off a wad of toilet paper and handing it to him. “Thanks,” he mumbled again, wiping his mouth with it, “I think I’m done.”

“You sure?” Eleanor pressed, her eyebrows pulling in together. He just feebly nodded, and using the toilet as support, he hoisted himself to his feet. They both walked back into the main room to find Zayn still asleep on the floor, a blue blanket tangled around his sleeping form, and Ed sitting in front of the coffee table with two bags on it.

“I thought we could all use a bit of greasy food to help us feel better,” he grinned, digging into the brown bags, one by one pulling out breakfast sandwiches. The scent of bacon wafted into Eleanor’s nose, making her sigh in happiness, sitting down next to Ed to decide which one she wanted. “Not sure what you guys wanted so I got a lot of each.” 

Harry looked sick at the prospect of food, but Eleanor nudged him. “Seriously, Harry, you’ll feel better,” she told him, picking up her own bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich. She didn’t care that the red wrapper had grease stains on it because it was so fatty, she was hungry and it sounded so delicious.

“I guess…” he eyed the sandwiches dejectedly, but picked up one with a green wrapper, and without even looking at it, he unwrapped it and took a bite. It looked hard for him to chew it and get it down, but he did. His face contorted into a grimace, but he took another bite.

“See? Not so hard,” Ed grinned, taking a bite of his own sandwich.

“How come you’re all chipper? You both should be in hell with me,” Harry grumbled accusingly.

“Because we can both handle our alcohol young one,” Ed said, “plus I’m a pro at drinking. If I have a hangover it’s a rare occurrence.”

“Yeah yeah,” Harry muttered, taking a long sip of the water bottle on the coffee table that Ed had so kindly laid out for them.

“Oh look, Sleeping Beauty’s up,” Ed announced as Zayn approached the table, bleary eyed and sleepy. He grunted in response before taking a sandwich off the table and a water bottle. He headed over to the cabinet, pulled out a bottle of Advil, the pills jingling inside, before popping two in his mouth and washing them down with water.

“Can you toss me that bottle too?” Harry croaked and Zayn nodded, tossing the bottle over. Harry nearly didn’t catch it, fumbling with it for a moment, before extracting his own and taking the pills. Eleanor never liked the largeness of the blue oval capsules, but she knew Advil was a lifesaver. 

“So, you guys have to tell us everything that happened yesterday! Did you have fun?” Eleanor pressed, her eyes wide in excitement. She was going to wait until they were more awake, but she was having trouble keeping all this curiosity to herself. She wasn’t with them the whole night, obviously, so she wanted the details, since she basically set up all four of them. Ed leaned back and grinned, looking expectant as well.

Harry flushed crimson, not making eye contact, while Zayn got a dreamy expression on his face.

“It was the best party I’ve ever been too. The headache is worth it,” Zayn replied, the expression still on his face. All three of them turned to him, Harry looking relieved the spotlight wasn’t on him anymore. 

“What happened?” Eleanor demanded.

“Well,” Zayn shrugged, snapping out of his trance, looking embarrassed at it, “Perrie and I hung out all night. She’s pretty cool.” Zayn was trying to play it cool, but Eleanor could see the twinkle of happiness behind his eyes and the little smile threatening to form on his lips.

Eleanor squealed and Ed and Harry looked pleased and gave him a high-five. She was sure it was pretty hard given the loud noise their hands made and the way Zayn frowned and shook out his hand. “You kiss her?”

“No,” Zayn sighed, “but I’m more optimistic about things, you know?”

“Yay,” Eleanor smiled, “now, Harry. Details, now.”

Harry looked embarrassed again when all eyes turned to him. “You guys were there. Me and Lou hung out, that’s it.”

“Hung out? More like you were attached at the hip the whole night whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears,” Zayn snorted. Harry balled up a wrapper and threw it at him and Zayn laughed, trying to deflect it away from him.

“Yeah, yeah, we were close the whole night. It was perfect. I would tell you everything but none of you are gay and you would call me even more gay for my twelve year old girly type of gossip, so I’ll keep it to myself,” he grinned at them and everyone laughed.

“Hey! I want to know!” Eleanor pouted, sticking out her bottom lip. She was sure she didn’t look endearing, considering her makeup was smudged under her eyes and her clothes were wrinkled from last night, but she was trying.

“I’ll call you later and explain everything,” he promised, hoisting himself up, already looking better than he did twenty minutes ago. “I actually have to go meet up with Nick Grimshaw. He asked me to help him with his communications project or something,” he shrugged, shoving his large feet into his shoes from last night.

Eleanor, Ed, and Zayn looked at each other with raised eyebrows that Harry didn’t catch at first. When he did notice, he paused in the middle of pulling his left shoe over his ankle. “What?” he asked defensively.

“Help him with his communications project?” Zayn asked incredulously, “you do know that Nick is like, number one in his communications degree? He doesn’t need your help, I reckon.” As he said this he absent mindedly played with the silver ring on his middle finger, slipping it up and down.

“Then what?” Harry demanded.

“Obviously he wants a little one on one time with Styles,” Ed wiggled his orange eyebrows.

“What? No,” Harry denied, “seriously? Why would Nick Grimshaw want to hang out with me? He’s like three years ahead and cool and I’m well, you know.”

“You do not see yourself clearly, that’s for sure,” Eleanor said softly, “but I agree with them, Harry. Why else would he?”

“I don’t know, to actually get a good grade on the project?” Harry supplied, like it was the obvious answer. He shoved his glasses back on his head that were on the bedside table, hastily thrown there the night before when Harry decided on not to wear them. Eleanor sighed.

“Whatever you want to believe Harry,” she shook her head, “now have fun, don’t be out too late, and wear a condom, okay sweetie?” she said to the amusement of Ed and Zayn. Harry flipped her off but laughed as he headed out the door.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone more oblivious, have you?” Ed said in disbelief.

“Nope,” Eleanor agreed. She started picking up the empty wrappers off the table and threw them in the silver tin trashcan by the side of the bed. She knew it wasn’t her dorm, but she was starting to really hate mess. Plus, it was the least she could do because they let her sleep there last night.

“Well, on that note, I better head off soon too. You guys can stay here or whatever, I don’t care, I trust you not to trash the place. I would stay but I have a class at one,” Ed frowned, “I had fun last night, though. We’re always going to be Pong partners, okay El?”

“Sounds good,” she laughed as he shrugged on his blue zip up hoodie.

“I’m holding you to that,” he warned, “we kick arse!” he pumped his fist in the air, walking backwards, before turning around and heading out the door. Zayn and Eleanor sat in comfortable silence as she cleaned up a bit more, Zayn still staring at the ceiling with a dreamy expression on his face. Eleanor started to fold up the blankets they used last night.

“We should head out now, shouldn’t we?” Eleanor suggested, making Zayn jump out of his reverie. 

“Yeah,” he nodded, picking himself off of the floor.

“Zayn? Can you tell me about last night? And not the bullshit short version to seem cooler in front of Ed and Harry,” Eleanor asked as she shut the door behind her in the hall, Zayn pulling his leather jacket on. He paused, but then his face broke out into a grin.

“Fine, fine, you got me,” he laughed, “okay, it was nothing really. But I mean it was monumental for me. We talked the whole night. We have so much in common, and she’s crazy, but in a good way. She was cracking me up, being energetic but not annoying, all sweet and pretty listening to what I had to say. And I didn’t freeze up! I got her number and everything. I’m pretty sure I’m in love,” he sighed dreamily, “did you see her last night? So beautiful.”

Eleanor’s heart warmed. “Good! This is so good,” she squealed, “I’m so proud of you Zayn!”

“Thanks to you,” he smiled at her gratefully, “I’m serious. I would have never even talked to her if it weren’t for you.” He looked away shyly, shoving his hands into his pockets. Eleanor didn’t like his leather jacket just because it smelled strongly of cigarettes, but she didn’t say anything.

“Anytime,” she smiled, “you’ve been doing so much for me it’s the least I can do. I would never get back to my own time if it weren’t for you.”

"You wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for me," Zayn reminded her.

“Yeah, well, I’m just glad you’re here, okay? God! Take my praise!” she shoved him lightly, making him laugh, “now let’s go for a walk or something. It’s nice out!” And with that, she grabbed a groaning Zayn by his arm and hauled him outside. 

 

-

 

Eleanor was lying on Zayn’s bed, a book propped up against her legs as she lay flat on her back, when she received the phone call from Harry that she was awaiting. She didn’t even realize her phone was ringing at first, the phone on vibrate, entangled in the covers, her mind focused on the book in front of her. She had actually decided to read Nineteen Minutes, and to her immense delight, she really enjoyed it. She hadn’t put it down since she came back from that walk with Zayn, when both of them lapped the campus once or twice, she couldn’t be sure. He was on the couch watching some soccer game, the sound on quietly as to not disturb Eleanor.

She was at the part where young Peter just got his lunch box thrown out the window of the bus, feeling angry at his treatment, when Zayn’s voice snapped her out of her concentration on the book world. 

“El? I think your phone’s ringing,” Zayn called as a commercial was playing, some advertisement for an amusement park, lots of kids laughing and screaming on the screen, “I hear some weird buzzing noise. I thought it was my phone, but obviously not.” At that, he waved his phone in the air that showed he was idly on twitter.

“Huh? Oh!” she exclaimed, dropping the book and fumbling around the covers to locate the green incased phone. She found it just in time, hurriedly pressing the green answer button without even looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?” she breathed, happy she caught the call.

“Hey El!” Harry’s cheery voice came through the speakers.

“Oh hey Harry! What’s up? How was your study date?” she asked, picking up her book from where she dropped it and placing it delicately on the nightstand. A few of the pages were creased, but she’d fix them later.

“El, it wasn’t a date,” Harry huffed, “but it was fine. We talked, worked a bit. Nick’s a cool guy. But anyway, I wanted to tell you about last night. I’ve been bursting to all day and you know no one else would listen to me gush about Louis, so,” he chuckled. 

“Yes I’m so privileged!” she exclaimed, laying back down on her back, her hair splayed around the pillow.

“Hush! Okay, so you saw what happened, mostly, I guess. Like we talked all night, and I mean we already knew we had a lot in common, but we talked about everything, even if we were both a little drunk. Okay, I was really drunk. But yeah and I kept throwing in subtle flirting, which you should be proud of me for, since I was scared as shit to do it, but Louis giggled and blushed when I did and said a lot of stuff back, too.”

“Like what?” Eleanor asked, staring at the ceiling with a goofy grin on her face.

“Well I told him he looked really hot in his outfit, and he said he really liked how my arse looked in black jeans,” Harry paused to giggle, “and just I don’t know. Sweet nothings as Zayn put earlier. He wouldn’t stop touching me either, like on my biceps or throwing his arm around my neck, or subtly tracing patterns on my thighs if we were sitting next to each other. We danced too, not dirty grinding or anything, but silly stuff that made me laugh and it just shows that Louis genuinely doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him. But he made me come out of my shell too, like I met a lot of really cool people last night.”

“I’m surprised you remember anything,” Eleanor sniggered, not being able to help herself.

“Oi! Do you want to hear the rest or not?” Harry said impatiently.

“There’s more?” Eleanor asked, propping herself up on her elbows to get more comfortable.

“Yes, I didn’t even tell you the best part! So, okay, Louis was getting tired of yelling in my ear by the end of the night to be heard over the drunks and the music. This was after pong if you were curious. But anyway, he suggested we find a quiet place to talk, so we headed upstairs and after trying a few times, we found a non-occupied one. Did you know Niall got lucky last night, though? Found him snogging a blonde girl, both of them shirtless in one of the rooms. You’d think they’d have locked the door –“

“Okay I don’t care about Niall’s hook ups! Well, I mean that’s interesting, but I’d rather hear about you and Louis right now,” Eleanor cut him off impatiently. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zayn smirk and shake his head, clearly hearing her end of the conversation and knowing she was talking to Harry.

“Okay, sorry, sorry,” Harry apologized quickly, “but anyway, we found this bedroom that no one was in and both fell onto the bed, giggling and exhausted, so that we were both laying on our backs on the bed, both of our feet hanging off the bed. Well, mine more because Louis’ legs are shorter and cuter than mine. But yeah, we were just lying next to each other, talking, and our noses were pretty close, and he was staring at me with those blue eyes, and while I was telling a story, his eyes kept flickering to my lips, but I just kept talking, faster and faster out of nerves. And then, well, he cut me off, saying ‘well that is really interesting Curly, but would you mind if I kissed you now?’ And well, we kissed. Yeah,” Harry finished, sounding breathless from the excitement of the retelling of the story.

“What!? No way!” Eleanor sat up abruptly, her eyes alight with giddiness and her mouth stretched into a grin. Zayn looked over at her curiously, having jumped from her exclamation, but she shook her head and mouthed ‘later’ to him, and he nodded. “Tell me every detail! Now! I don’t care how intimate!”

“Okay,” Harry agreed, sounding pleased, “well, after he asked, I nodded feebly and he cautiously moved in, gauging my reaction, and when I started to lean in too, his eyes fluttered shut and so did mine. And when he pressed his lips to mine, Eleanor, I swear I had to suppress a gasp. They were so soft, way better than I expected, and we both hesitantly kissed each other at first, both of us nervous to test boundaries. And well, I’m guessing I’m the first guy he’s kissed, so. And I was just scared ‘cause it was Louis. But we moved our lips barely, a little open mouthed, him reaching up and grabbing the little curls on the back of my neck, and I couldn’t help it but let out a little moan at that. And well it was history after that,” Harry chuckled, “Louis seemed to take control, getting really turned on by my groan, moving his lips more needy and rougher, but not grossly rough. And he traced his tongue on my bottom lip and then slid it in and god, El, he is such a good kisser. We scooted up farther on the bed, the kiss desperate and heated now, and I got to cup his bum as we kissed, even got to squeeze it, El, I swear I passed out. But he loves my chest, I reckon, because he slipped off my shirt and he could not stop running his fingers and hands all over my chest, lightly to make me shiver or roughly to feel the muscles there. He even left kisses all over my chest, too, and god it was better than I imagined. He let me unbutton his shirt, too, and he has this cute little tummy, like he’s not fat or anything, just a little pouch, but it was so cute and I couldn’t stop running my hands over it. He loved my hair, too, because he’d run his fingers through my curls a lot, tugging on them to make different needy sounds to come out of me, I think that riled him up or something. But his hair is so soft, El, and feathery and wow. If you’re wondering it didn’t go any farther than that, but someone knocked on the door after a bit, and we hurriedly got changed and smoothed ourselves out and went back to the party.”

Eleanor had trouble not interrupting him with squeals and cheers, so the whole time she listened to him she shoved her fist a little in her mouth. She did, however, bounce a bit on the bed, the headboard bouncing against the wall with a steady thump, but she didn’t care. Her plan was working and Louis and Harry freaking kissed and Louis wasn’t backing away and it was all so perfect.

“I knew it! Well, I mean I didn’t, but I remember seeing you guys after this. Your hair was all tousled like someone ran their fingers through it and you were both out of breath and flushed. Awful at being discreet, you lot,” Eleanor chuckled, “but oh my god Harry I’m so happy for you I could sing! Well, you actually wouldn’t want to hear me sing, but that’s beside the point.”

“Thanks El,” Harry laughed, “I mean, I can’t wait to see him! What if he wants to be my boyfriend? Even if not, I’m just happy to see him again and be all giggly and happy together and just talk. Wow. Maybe sneak in another snog. I’ll definitely have every detail of it seared in my mind forever.”

Eleanor smiled. “I’m so proud of you Har, seriously. I have to go now because Zayn looks like he’s going to die of curiosity, but seriously, we’ll hang soon, okay?”

“Sounds good!” Harry chirped, “see ya!” And with that the line went dead and Eleanor let out a squeal she was holding in.

“What on earth happened?” Zayn demanded, clicking off the little television with the remote, the screen flashing to black instantly. He turned to her, curiosity in his brown eyes, sitting up straighter to hear her news.

“Harry and Louis made out at the party last night!” she exclaimed, jumping down from the bed.

“What? No way! El, this is great!” Zayn grinned.

“I know!” Eleanor cheered, doing a little happy dance to Zayn’s amusement. She wiggled her hips a little and hummed, happiness coursing through her. 

“I wonder how Louis’ taking it,” Zayn mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully. 

“What do you mean?” Eleanor paused. The clock on the wall chimed, indicating it was 5:00. Eleanor had always wondered why Zayn had so many clocks in the dorm, but she remembered the collection of clocks back at his house and she just assumed that clocks fascinated him. However, at the moment, neither of the two paid any attention to any of the clocks in the room as a seed of worry planted itself in Eleanor at Zayn's musing.

“Well, I mean, I’m just wondering if he’s as excited as Harry. That’s all,” Zayn shrugged from his spot on the couch, stretching out his legs.

“Well, by Harry’s account he seemed pretty excited,” Eleanor sniffed defensively, “besides, I saw them afterwards. He was glowing.”

“He was also drunk,” Zayn pointed out, “look, I’m not trying to put a damper on things, but you should see Louis. See his input on things.” They stared at each other for a long time, Eleanor glaring and Zayn giving her a ‘go do it’ face, silence in the background.

“Fine,” Eleanor puffed, “I will, but I assure you Louis is just as happy about this as Harry is.” With that, she turned on her heel and stalked out of the dorm, slamming the door behind her.

She muttered curses under her breath, crossing her arms over her chest as she stomped down the hallway towards Louis’ dorm, in which he shared with Liam, as Niall was at his frat house frequently. Though, it wasn’t uncommon to see the blonde lad chomping food on the couch playing video games, even when the other two weren’t around. 

She walked up to the bland door and knocked on it over and over, quick little raps, waiting for someone to let her in. The number on the door rattled as she knocked, but she didn’t care.

“Whoa, whoa, where’s the fire?” Niall answered the door, and sure enough, his mouth was full.

“No where, where’s Lou?” she asked, not waiting for an invitation in, just pushing past him into the dorm. She’d been in their dorm once or twice, and she secretly enjoyed how it was smaller than her and Zayn’s. It was nice, though, a bit messy, and she would suspect it would be a tornado if Liam didn’t room with Louis as well. She did see a lone blue take out cup on the dresser, as well as some discarded sweatshirts around the bed.

“Here,” a muffled voice came from the bed. She saw Louis’ form under the lump of navy blue comforter, a bit of his feathered hair poking out at the top, his face completely covered.

“He’s been under the covers all day,” Liam clucked his tongue disapprovingly from the couch, a game of Fifa paused on the screen. The team in the yellow jerseys seemed to be winning, and by the way Liam was pouting at the screen, she could guess that team was Niall’s.

“Some hangover, I’m guessing,” Niall chuckled, leaning over the couch to pluck another handful of crisps, shoving them in his mouth. Eleanor remembered Louis wasn’t too drunk by the end of the night, though, so she was curious to why he was under the covers, if it really was in fact a bad hangover.

“Leave me to die alone and miserable!” Louis whimpered from the bed. Eleanor looked at Niall and he rolled his blue eyes, still chewing loudly. It was actually kind of gross, but Eleanor didn’t comment.

“Louis, I came to talk to you about last night,” Eleanor started, walking over to the bed and ripping the covers off Louis’ face. He yelped and tried to yank them back up, squinting his eyes against the light, but Eleanor held firmly.

“Louis, please?” she stuck out her bottom lip in a pout and he stopped struggling. He self-consciously smoothed his hair down, grumbling the whole time, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

“What about last night?” he gave in, sighing. He blew a wisp of messy hair out of his face and watched it land on his forehead again.

“You know perfectly well what I’m talking about,” Eleanor quipped, crossing her arms over her chest as well, challenging him. He looked up at that, his eyes flickering with panic.

“You know? I… no… Eleanor, it was a mistake – “ he babbled, his face getting continuously redder.

“Louis, Louis, calm down!” Eleanor cut him off, “I’m not here to make fun of you.”

“Am I the only one completely lost in to what’s going on right now?” Liam asked loudly from the couch, looking back and forth between the two of them. Niall nodded frantically as well, agreeing with Liam’s statement. 

“Could you guys, like, give us a minute?” Eleanor asked them sweetly. Niall and Liam shared an annoyed look before huffing out sighs and shuffling towards the door. Once they were safely out, Eleanor was about to open her mouth when Louis shook his head.

“You do know they’re currently standing right outside the door, ears pressed against it, right?” Louis asked, shooting a dirty look at the door. Eleanor groaned and wrenched open the door to which Niall tumbled over Liam’s crouching form, the two of them tangled on the floor. There were yelps of pain and a soft thump as Niall his head on the side of the door frame, but Eleanor was not amused.

“Do you _mind?_ ” she asked, hearing herself losing patience. She just wanted one talk with her daddy, that’s all she was asking, was it really that difficult? Her life depended on what happened next, and she seriously just needed to hear what Louis had to say.

“Sorry,” Liam said, sheepishly, as he picked himself up and dusted himself off. He picked Niall up by the collar of his green t-shirt, earning a yelp from him, and they quickly turned and walked down the hall, conversing over whether they should go get coffee or go to Andy’s dorm and continue playing Fifa there. They threw a few curious glances over their shoulder, though, but Eleanor turned and strode back into the dorm where Louis was where she left him, staring at the ceiling with a stressed expression on his face.

“So, Louis, spill, I already know the gist of it, so no hiding from me,” Eleanor demanded, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Louis said stubbornly, his jaw set straight, not looking at Eleanor still. 

“Louis, I know you and Harry made out last night,” Eleanor decided to be blunt, resting a comforting hand on his thigh. This was the wrong gesture, apparently, because Louis jerked his leg away from her, anger in his expression.

“Shut up Eleanor you don’t know anything!” he snapped, pulling his legs up into a ball, wrapping his arms around his knees. He was glaring at her, eyebrows pulled down into a scowl. 

Eleanor’s mouth popped open. Why was he acting like this? “Louis, I know you did, it’s not a big deal I think it’s sweet and –“

But Louis cut her off again. “No, stop! Eleanor, please! I was drunk, wasted even, and… and I’m straight okay? I’m fucking straight! So don’t think I want to have it up the arse now, okay? I’m straight and I like girls. I love girls. So, if you’re trying to convince me otherwise, you’re wrong, okay?” Eleanor knew that Louis was barely even drunk by the end of the night, and she knew that he wanted Harry, so she felt herself starting to get frustrated as well, butting in.

“But Louis –“

“Seriously! Harry means nothing to me! I actually don’t want to see him again, lest he gets the wrong idea. He’s some stupid boy that put his tongue in my mouth that will never happen again. You guys can finish the project without me, okay? I’m done,” Louis continued, coming out of his ball and ripping the covers back, stalking from the bed. Since his dorm wasn’t big, it looked as if he wanted to storm to another room, pausing, but with no other option, he quickly crossed the room to the front door and wrenched it open. He left without another word to Eleanor, the slamming of the door ringing through the empty dorm. 

Eleanor felt tears prick her eyes; this was not supposed to go like this. Louis was supposed to be equally as happy as Harry, and they were supposed to start dating and kissing and loving each other. She wondered if this had happened the first time around, when she wasn’t here, but she felt sick to her stomach thinking about that, just in case she messed up again somehow. 

She scrubbed her hands down her face, wiping away some of the stray tears. Why was Louis being so difficult? She knew he was freaked out, she got that, but he had friends to support him and he wouldn’t be alone, he’d have Harry…

She wanted to let out a scream to get rid of the eerie silence, but instead, she slowly pushed herself off of the bed and made her way to the front door herself. She’d have to fix this somehow, help Louis from his sexuality crisis and show him it was okay to have a crush on Harry and want to kiss him. She didn’t know how to even begin that. She felt another shock of dread when she thought about how hurt Harry was going to be, now that Louis didn’t want to do the project anymore, not even see him again, after the night that Harry had deemed as perfect. Eleanor knew Harry was naïve to this sort of thing, since she’d already guessed he’d never had a random hook up at a party, that a lot of the time they didn’t mean anything, but he didn’t know that. He knew that he wanted to kiss Louis and Louis kissed him back, and that it was black and white that something was going to happen because of it.

But the thing was, he _was_ right. The kiss _was_ something; that something _was_ supposed to come out of it, and that Louis was the one who was wrong, despite the normal rules about random hookups. She just didn’t want to be the one to tell Harry that Louis was too scared to go for it. 

Eleanor slowly headed back to her dorm, not wanting to face Zayn or anyone in her path, shuffling her flip-flop clad feet along the gray rug in the hallway. Her head was low, not looking at any of the passing people, chatting and laughing, their sound muffled by Eleanor’s screaming thoughts of frustration. 

When she reached the dorm, to her relief, Zayn was asleep on the couch, arm hanging off the side of it, face pressed into the cushion, mouth wide open and snoring. The television was still on in the background, the characters on the screen in a heated embrace, hands intertwined in each other’s hair. Eleanor didn’t even want to know what he was watching, so she crouched down and retrieved the remote on the floor by Zayn’s hand and clicked the tv off.

She stood in the room that was dark except for the beam of light that escaped through the crack in the blinds, illuminating a strip of light on the bed. Eleanor sighed and walked over to it, hopping over some stray object on the floor, narrowly missing a gray sneaker. She didn’t even know what time it was, but she didn’t care; she was exhausted and frustrated, and she knew if she stayed up, her emotions would only get worse. Yet, she kept tossing and turning, not able to fall asleep. She got tangled in the sheets, but she didn’t even fight it as she lay there, staring at the ceiling. It was a while before sleep came, after a fruitless attempt at counting sheep and deep breaths, but sleep finally enveloped her.

When Eleanor woke the next morning, it was to someone shaking her lightly. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but by the way the color behind her eyelids were red, she assumed it was bright out. 

“El, wake up,” a soft voice was in her ear, and she slowly lifted her eyelids to be met with a pair of green eyes.

“Harry, what are you doing in here?” she mumbled sleepily, resting back on her elbows, blinking a lot to wake herself up more. She didn’t even know how the hell he got in here.

“I wanted to go to the coffee shop. A little birdy told me that Louis was going to be there this morning, so….” He smiled brightly. She noticed that he was back to wearing his glasses and that he was already freshly showered, his curls still a bit damp, the scent of strawberries lingering on them. He was in a pair of gray sweatpants, not his ridiculously tight jeans for once, and a white t-shirt, rolled up on the sides.

Eleanor felt a jolt of dread as she remembered her and Louis’ conversation last night, and she knew that the last thing Louis needed was a visit from Harry, who was Louis’ problem himself. But Harry was looking at her with bright eyes and a hopeful little smile, and she felt awful to deny him of this, because maybe over the night Louis came to his senses. Or maybe he wouldn’t even be there.

“God, waking me up early just to see your loverboy,” she said instead, plastering a smile on her face, throwing the covers back and getting out of bed. She noticed Zayn was still in the position she left him in last night and she chuckled to herself. The only addition was the dampness on the cushion by his mouth from his drool.

She raked her fingers through her hair, not bothering to do anything with it other than throwing it into a messy bun. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone, and she was too lazy to do anything different anyway. She was tempted to go in her pink and blue polk-a-dotted pajama bottoms, the only pair she bought because she couldn’t resist the comfy fleece, but decided it was not acceptable to go out with them on in public.

“Okay, turn around, I’m getting changed,” Eleanor ordered, already plunging into the shopping bags she still didn’t unpack.

“Eleanor, I’m gay as a double rainbow,” Harry rolled his eyes, “but whatever you like.” With that he made a show of covering his eyes tightly and turning on his heels to face the wall. Eleanor hurriedly shoved on a pair of light skinny jeans, struggling to get her ankles through as Harry huffed impatiently.

“Alright, alright, I’m done,” she snapped, deeming her cotton gray tank top was decent enough. She fell asleep in her bra last night, so she didn’t need to slip one on under her shirt either, which she was thankful for.

They headed out the door, not even bothering to be quiet, because they knew Zayn could sleep through anything. A foghorn could go off in his ear and he wouldn’t even stir.  
“Do I look okay?” Harry asked as they descended down the stairs, nervously fingering his hair.

“Yes,” she smiled at him, “better than okay. I wish I was a gay boy so I could snog you.”

Harry chuckled at that and playfully nudged her with his shoulder as they headed out into the warm spring air. It was that time of year that was so close to summer that you could almost call it summer, the air a bit warmer and humid, more birds and insects out and the trees growing greener. 

They reached the coffee shop in good time, chatting about the party and Louis and their literature class and more Louis. Harry had more of a bounce in his step than normal, his curls even seemed bouncier and shinier, and his face was bright and animated the whole way. Eleanor was happy for this, but she still had that little pit of worry in her stomach that Louis was going to do something drastic when he saw Harry and crush his heart. 

They entered with the bell chiming, and immediately she noticed Louis in the back booth, to her dread. Although, luckily he wasn’t with the whole crew; instead, he was just with Liam who had a large textbook in front of him, his nose far in the book. Louis was looking out the window, watching the people walk and mill about, a troubled expression on his usually bright face. His coffee sat untouched in front of him. He didn’t even look up when the bell went off, and neither did Liam who was still reading, his lips moving silently to comprehend the words better.

“There he is!” Harry pointed out, unnecessarily, “now, what should I do? Like sit in the booth next to them and be surprised when I see him? Or come right up to his table?”

“Um,” Eleanor paused, but before she could say anything, he was already heading over to Louis’ table, not even bothering to wait for Eleanor. With the worry still eating her insides, she set off after him, biting her lip the whole time.

“Hey Lou, hey Liam,” Harry started right as she made it to the table. Louis looked up so fast it looked as if someone electrically shocked him. Liam looked up and smiled at Harry, looking relieved at a distraction.

“Hey Harry,” Liam greeted, sliding his textbook farther away. Louis still didn’t say anything, just stared at Harry, his expression unreadable.

“So, Lou, um, I was wondering if you wanted to go sit and chat for a little? I can buy you a croissant,” Harry offered, his crooked smile lighting up his whole face, his dimple surfacing. 

Louis coughed and looked down. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Harry,” he said quietly. Eleanor felt the dread fill her stomach again, and Harry just looked confused.

“Why? Who can resist a good croissant?” he tried again, trying to make a joke. The brightness in his eyes was turning to worry, though.

“It’s not about the croissant,” Louis said, looking up, “we shouldn’t ‘chat’ Harry. Not now, not ever.”

“Why not? I mean at the party-“

“What happened at the party was a mistake,” Louis cut in sharply.

“Wha…?” Harry looked hurt, his eyebrows furrowing, “what do you mean? Louis, what happened at the party-“

“Wasn’t supposed to happen,” Louis cut in again, “look, Harry, you’re a nice guy, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’m not gay. I’m straight. And I just feel as if we shouldn’t be friends right now. Or, like, ever, lest you get the wrong idea.”

“But-“

“You and Eleanor can work on the project, I can talk to Trawley about it,” Louis shrugged. He tried to seem indifferent to the whole situation, but you could see the longing and guilt in his blue eyes, the sadness, as if he was about to cry at the whole situation.

Harry looked like he was going to cry as well. His eyes were actually pricked with tears as he spoke, “well if that’s what you really want,” he said in a quiet voice, his eyes on the floor, “I won’t bother you again.”

Louis looked like he wanted to say something else but he clamped his mouth shut and gave a curt nod, turning to his coffee and staring at it like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Liam looked confused but with pity towards Harry, but he didn’t dare interject. Harry was still looking at Louis, tears in his eyes, rooted in his spot. Eleanor didn’t even know what to say.

“I think it’s time for you to go Harry,” Louis finally said, still not looking at him. Harry feebly nodded and turned on his heel, not waiting for Eleanor again as he walked out of the shop, hands shoved deep in his sweatpants pockets.

“That was real nice, Lou,” Eleanor couldn’t resist biting at him, and without waiting for his response, she set off towards a broken Harry, the bell chiming after her, the door slamming shut. 

She saw Harry’s figure moving hastily down the street, his head still bowed low. She jogged to catch up to him, her bun bouncing behind her.

“Harry!” she called, making him speed up. “Harry, please, slow down!” He didn’t answer, but he did slow a bit, allowing Eleanor to catch up to him. “Harry, what happened back there –“

“Was absolute rubbish if you ask me,” he but in, his voice thick, trying to hold back tears.

“I know it was, but you have to understand, Louis is just scared-“

“That’s no excuse,” Harry said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, “I’m just so hurt. He’s just throwing everything away. I was his stupid experiment, wasn’t I? I don’t want to ever see him _again_.” His voice broke on the last word, showing his devastation.

Eleanor felt her heart break in two. “Harry, you don’t mean that-“

“Yes I do. Now, please, just leave me alone. I want to be by myself, okay?” he turned to her, his eyes swimming in tears, and with a little sniffle, he sped off towards the campus again, leaving Eleanor behind. 

“God damn it Louis!” she yelled in frustration. A young couple passing by gave her a questioning look that she ignored. Why did he have to go and _fuck everything up?_

 

-

 

Eleanor stayed in her dorm all day, Zayn working on the time machine again, so she luckily got it to herself. She started to read again, feet propped up on the arm of the couch, head propped up on a pillow, escaping the troubles of reality through Nineteen Minutes, hoping by reading about other peoples’ problems hers would magically go away.

Around 7:00, she heard a timid knock on the door that she knew wasn’t Zayn, since he would have just used his key and barged in. She stuck the yellow sticky note on the page she was reading, almost done the book by now, and headed towards the door, fixing her tank top over her stomach as she did so.

She was surprised to see Louis on the other side, looking a bit sheepish, his hands in his jumper’s pockets.

“Hi El,” he greeted, shifting from foot to foot.

“Hi Louis,” she said back coldly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I, um, brought movies?” he tried, holding up his book bag as if this explained everything. She just raised her eyebrows at him, not responding. “I came straight from class and hastily shoved them in my bag,” he explained, patting the bag twice.

“Okay,” she said, still not moving from the threshold, her arms still crossed.

Louis sighed. “Look, I know you’re mad over the whole Harry thing because he’s your friend too, but-“

“Save it Lou, I really don’t wanna hear it,” she said, turning on her heel back into the apartment, but leaving the door open for him to follow. He hurriedly came in after her, as if he was afraid she’d change her mind and shut the door behind him gently with a soft click. She was mad at him, but he was her friend just as much as Harry, and she knew he was going through a lot right now, so she didn’t want to add to his load by shunning him. Even if he was being a right twat.

“So,” he started, plopping his book bag on the coffee table with a clunk, “what do you wanna start with? I brought Pulp Fiction, Saving Private Ryan, Zombieland…” he read off as he pulled a huge pile of movies out of his bag, some falling to the ground, hitting the rug with a muffled thump. With the movies, a neon pink sheet fluttered to the ground that was crumpled, obviously shoved into his book bag earlier.

“What’s this?” Eleanor asked, plucking it off the ground. Her eyes scanned it quickly over the creases as it said:

**TRYOUTS FOR THE MUSICAL THIS FRIDAY!**  
THE MUSICAL WE’RE DOING THIS YEAR IS GREASE!  
COME AT 7:00 PM SHARP  
NEED LOTS OF PEOPLE TO JOIN, FIRST COME FIRST SERVE! 

There were a few more lines of bold black text, but before she could read them, the paper was yanked from her grip. She looked up, surprised, to see a red-faced Louis shoving it back into his bag. She was surprised the paper didn’t rip by how forcefully he grabbed it from her grip.

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” he said, zippering his bag back up hastily, the zipper catching a few times as he yanked it.

“What? Why! You’re trying out for the musical? Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded, her face lighting up, momentarily forgetting she was mad at him.

“Because I’m not sure if I’m actually gonna do it!” he exclaimed.

“Why not?” she asked, confused.

“Because I get all nervous okay? What if I’m not good enough? What if I mess up? I can’t…” he trailed off, biting his lip.

“If you don’t do it, I will be very disappointed in you Louis,” Eleanor told him, “it’s what you love and to deprive yourself of it because of a few nerves? I think that’s truly sad. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t, I’m telling you.”

“You really think so?” Louis asked, eyeing his book bag wearily.

“Yes!” she laughed, “of course Louis. I can already tell you’ll be amazing, okay?”

“Okay, yeah… I’ll do it,” Louis smiled back.

“Yay!” Eleanor clapped, high-fiving him, “I’ll go to your auditions to cheer you on!”

“No, don’t! I’ll mess up,” he looked panicked at this aspect.

“Come on, I’ll cheer you on, seriously, you’ll be fine,” Eleanor reassured him.

“Fine! Ugh, the things you make me do!” Louis resigned, sighing, “Next thing you know you’ll be making me go stark naked running down the street bellowing ‘I’m Eleanor Calder’s bitch!’”

Eleanor laughed, shaking her head. “What am I going to do with you Louis?”

“Nothing, you love me,” he smirked, grabbing a random dvd off the ground and shuffling over to the dvd player on his knees. He pressed the open button and slid it in with a self-satisfied smile.

“No, I’m actually still really mad at you,” she told him truthfully, “but I’m willing to let it go. For now.”

Louis frowned at this but nodded, plopping down on the couch next to Eleanor, yanking up the covers around them. Eleanor smiled as the opening credits to Legally Blonde started, the pink lettering glittering across the screen and she settled down, deciding her issues could be sorted out after the movie.

 

-

 

Friday rolled around quickly, the week more unsuccessful as she even thought. Harry and Louis were still not talking, to the point where if they passed each other on campus, they’d both freeze up and quickly turn their heads to the side on downwards on their feet and shuffle away awkwardly. The project was going to shit, neither of them meeting up anymore, both just deciding to write their report on the information they already had, considering the project was due that Monday.

Eleanor decided to forgive Louis, because he was so confused and upset at the whole situation and his feelings, so she was there for him during the week, hanging with him and the crew and purposefully not mentioning Harry or the party. He was still stubbornly denying his feelings for Harry when he did come up in their private conversations, still deeming it as a drunken mistake. She hung with Harry too, to help him through the whole thing, still trying to convince him that Louis means well and that he’s confused. It was also a failed attempt, as Harry was determined to wallow in self-pity and try to get over Louis, which wasn’t working either. Every time Louis’ name popped up, his head snapped up like he was especially attuned to his name, and he’d blush and look back down afterwards, mumbling some rubbish that no one could understand.

The only silver lining was Perrie and Zayn seemed to be on the right track; the two of them were constantly going on dates and hanging out, watching movies and getting along well. She wasn’t sure if they were exclusive yet, but she was sure that they were adorable together, always touching and laughing and chatting quietly together. If Eleanor remembered correctly, she was pretty sure that in the original 2013 without her in it, that Perrie and Zayn didn’t date, so she was happy she was the one to make that happen. 

Eleanor was just happy that the stressful week was over though. She was currently tying up her black combat boots, not caring that the weather was warm out, considering she was wearing jean shorts with them. She was heading over to Louis’ audition to cheer him on, and she did something really sneaky that she was almost ashamed about. Almost. Harry was standing next to her, waiting for her patiently as she finished the last black shoe lace, not knowing that were heading to Louis’ audition. He thought they were going to go to the local book store to check out more books for them to read and talk about. They both heavily discussed Nineteen Minutes, their opinions and theories, and they wanted a chance to do it again. But Eleanor personally thought it could wait, since they had more pressing matters, for example, Louis’ audition to watch. She hoped that Harry being there would show how supportive he was of Louis, and that maybe Louis could see how important Louis was to Harry and he would realize that Harry was important to him too. It was a long shot, but she was willing to do anything at this point to get them to at least make eye contact with each other.

“Why do you look so nice to go to a bookstore?” Harry asked as she grabbed her purse off the bed, careful not to spill its contents all over the floor. Eleanor had a habit of not zippering her purses, which always led to disasters of her whole purse bursting open in the middle of the sidewalk or any other unfortunate location.

“Felt like dressing up,” she shrugged, heading out the door. And it was true, too, because she honestly didn’t have to dress up to watch Louis audition, obviously, but she’d been wearing sweatpants a lot recently and the weather outside made her feel bright and she wanted to look pretty along with the pretty weather.

They walked outside in the sunlight, a little skip in both of their steps, discussing possible books they would buy. Harry was explaining about how he wished there was a secondhand book shop around here instead, because he loved holding books that were truly loved once, creased from being read so many times, little scribbles of their thoughts at the time, high-lighted passages that meant a lot to them. That was when he noticed that they were heading the wrong way, not towards the store off campus, but towards the campus’ auditorium, which was where the auditions were being held. 

“El, you do know the book store is that way, right?” Harry asked, his brow furrowing, hooking his thumb behind him.

“Um,” was all she said as she pushed open the auditorium doors, the cool blast of air-conditioning enveloping her as she walked in. “Er, I have to see something first,” she mumbled out, a bad excuse, but she headed down the aisle, Harry following despite her lack of explanation.

A young blonde girl, seeming about 19, was singing Sandy’s part in You’re the One that I Want, belting out the lyrics with all of her heart as the two of them sat down, Harry’s brows still pulled together in confusion. The girl was quite good, and Eleanor really wouldn’t be surprised if she got the part, as she watched the girl shake her hips a little in time with the song.

“Why are we here?” Harry whispered, a little too loud, as the guy next to Harry glared at him with his pointer finger over his lips, signaling him to be quiet.

“There’s just someone I wanted to see, that’s all. We can go straight to the book store after this, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Harry grumbled, “wish you coulda just told me first instead of confusing the shit out of me. Who’s auditioning anyway?” 

Before Eleanor could reply, the same guy turned to them again, thumping his pointer finger against his lips a few times for more emphasis, his eyebrows together in a scowl. Harry held up his hands in defeat, as if the guy was holding a gun to him, and Eleanor giggled.

The blonde girl finished her last note, her eyes scrunched together, lost in the song, as the older woman in the front row scribbled down notes. Eleanor guessed that she was the drama professor, the one who’d cast the show. It was good that she didn’t seem to harsh or intimidating, and she was really hoping that Louis wouldn’t freeze up in front of her and her horn-rimmed pink glasses attached with a chain around her neck. 

“Thank you very much, Hannah,” the professor smiled, finishing up her last note. Hannah nodded and walked off stage as the professor scanned her list of scribbled names, no doubt the signup sheet.

“Louis Tomlinson,” she called out, and Harry froze next to her.

“You didn’t!” he hissed, turning to her with narrowed eyes.

“What?” she acted innocent, smiling at him before turning in her seat back to face Louis, who was walking on stage, looking nervous as he wrung his hands together and stopped in the middle of the stage. His eyes widened when he saw Harry in the audience, who was visible not matter how hard he tried to seem small as he slid down in his seat lower.

“Whenever you’re ready,” the professor’s voice snapped him out of his trance and he nodded, looking nervous again.

He closed his eyes and started to sing, his voice a higher pitch, but much more lovely than Eleanor expected. It was shaky a bit at first, from nerves, a bit quiet, but he seemed to get more confident as the song progressed. God, his voice was really beautiful as he sang Danny’s part in You’re the One that I Want, thrusting his hips a bit to the small audiences’ amusement, dancing a bit, his nerves fading away.

“I better shape up, ‘cause you need a man!” he sang out, his eye catching Harry’s before they flickered away, a blush on his cheeks. The little crowd clapped along as he sang, a bright grin on his face, finally finishing the song. He got a loud applause form the ten something people watching from their seats in the red plush auditorium chairs, and he was positively beaming. The professor looked impressed as well, a smile on her face.

“Thank you very much, Louis, that was brilliant,” she smiled, which was a good sign because even Hannah didn’t get an outright compliment.

“Thank you ma’am,” he answered, looked abashed. With that he walked off stage, and Eleanor and Harry got up to follow him out the door.

“I don’t think we should go see him I mean he probably doesn’t want to see me-“ Harry was telling Eleanor as she sped down the aisle to the backstage area, where she was sure Louis still was, but she wasn’t listening.

She opened the door, spotting Louis in the corner, getting congratulated by a bright eyed Hannah. Eleanor rolled her eyes and pushed past the people in the way, enveloping Louis in a huge hug, cutting off what Hannah was saying. The room had black flooring and a lot of technical equipment Eleanor couldn’t even begin to describe, tangled with wires and buttons. 

“You did fantastic, Louis!” she squealed into his shoulder, grinning.

“Thanks, El!” he beamed as she pulled away. Harry was nudging the floor with the tip of his shoe, looking awkward as he looked around backstage, pointedly not at Louis. Eleanor coughed loudly and Harry looked up, startled.

“Oh, Louis, you were… wow you were great,” Harry gave him a timid smile, “if she doesn’t pick you for Danny, she’s making a huge mistake.” His grin grew wider, looking like he just wanted Louis to hug him or do something to show him that Louis wasn’t mad anymore. Eleanor knew that Harry couldn’t be mad at Louis for long either, considering that Harry praised the ground Louis walked on, and Harry was pink cheeked and looking at Louis expectant.

“Oh, um, thanks Harry,” Louis said, not looking at him, “you shouldn’t have come today though, like I didn’t need you here or anything.” Eleanor’s mouth popped open at this, and even though Louis looked like he regretted the words, a surge of annoyance filled her.

Harry’s smile faded. “I know you didn’t, I just-“

“Coming here doesn’t change anything,” Louis said more forcefully. He looked utterly torn again, though, biting his lip.

“Well, well, _fuck_ you Louis!” Harry bit out, looking like it was a chore to get the words out, to actually insult Louis. Louis’ eyes widened in hurt, but Harry plowed on, “if you really don’t want anything fine, you can just tell me, instead of this whole ‘I’m not gay’ bullshit. Just don’t lie to yourself that you had a good time, because if your fucking huge _boner_ was anything to go by, then trust me, you did. Have a good day, _Louis_ , I really hope you get the part.” And with that, he turned on his heel, storming out of the backstage room without a backward glance, leaving a dumbfounded Eleanor and a red-faced Louis in his path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh don't hate me for this chapter! I'm sorry it had to be done!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna try to get out one a day, not two a day anymore because school started so wah blame it on school sorry

To say that things were going worse after that, it would be an understatement. 

Louis was in a particularly bad mood for a while, snapping at everyone, being quiet when they hung out. He was still really hurt by what Harry had said, but Eleanor could tell that he was mad at himself for letting it get like this as well.

Harry was mad too, and wouldn’t even hang out with her the whole weekend, claiming to be working on something important. Eleanor suspected it was that research paper on Louis, and with him being so hurt and angry at Louis, she wouldn’t be surprised if the paper was vicious. She just hoped that the professor kept it forever and never showed anyone, especially Louis, hence him getting more upset at everything.

Zayn was comforting, at least, letting her vent out her frustration at her dads, giving her soothing words and how they’ll come around and this and that. And, what was another comforting thought, was that the time machine was coming along nicely. There were a few last minute adjustments, as well as the fact they had to get their hands on electraform, but Eleanor didn’t mind, since she had a lot to sort out in the meantime.

Monday rolled around after another stressful weekend, and Eleanor found herself in her lit class, sitting silently as Harry and Louis both pointedly looked away from each other. Louis talked to Niall too loudly, laughing too loudly, and Harry was writing in his notebook with his pencil, but it was more like stabbing it because it was so forceful. Eleanor sighed, waiting for Professor Trawley to enter the room.

“Hello everyone,” she smiled as she bustled in, “sorry I’m late, I just had to copy a few things for another teacher. No matter,” she clapped once, “as you all know, your papers are due today, so I would like you all to pass yours up, or, I encourage any of you to stand up and read it to the class. It’d be nice for everyone to see the findings you encountered with your partners, as well as show off your writing skills, since after all, this is a literature class.” She grinned at this, tucking a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear, her blue eyes inviting.

As Professor Trawley explained, Eleanor heard the rustling of paper and the zippers of book bags opening, everyone scrambling to get their papers out and passed up. A few hands shot up in the air, ready to volunteer, and to Eleanor’s horror, one of them was Harry’s. Luckily, Professor Trawley seemed to be calling on everyone other than Harry, but he still held his hand up patiently after every person who read. Most of the papers were interesting, delving deep into the character’s good points and contrasting them with the flaws, finding personality aspects you don’t find on the surface. The class only had about five minutes left, to Eleanor’s relief, but then the person who was reading ended and Harry’s hand shot up again. 

“Harry, you can go last, I think that’s all we have time for today,” Professor Trawley smiled at him. Louis quickly swiveled in his chair at this, his eyes wide and nervous, as he didn’t even know what Harry said in his paper. Eleanor repressed a groan, scrubbing her hands down her face; she had a really bad feeling about this. Harry didn’t even cast him a glance as he pushed his seat back, it squealing against the tiled floor, and he fixed his glasses on his face, clearing his throat, ready to read.

“'If you spent your life concentrating on what everyone else thought of you, would you forget who you really were?’”, Harry began, the classroom silent, waiting, listening, “Alex Cormier, in the novel Nineteen Minutes, asked herself this question, but the fact was she should have applied this inquiry to her daughter, Josie Cormier. 

"Josie was a beautiful young girl, she was smart, funny, and most of all… she was popular. She had glamorous friends, the ones that everyone wanted to be, she had the boyfriend that every girl wanted. But the true fact was, was that Josie wasn’t always like this. In fact, growing up, her best friend was Peter Houghton, the one kid who wanted to fit in more than anything, but just couldn’t. He was awkward, scrawny, and bullied. Bullied for things out of his control, like his looks, his interests. 

"Peter and Josie were two peas in a pod, and they got along quite nicely, but as they got older, Josie started to care what people thought of her. She stopped sticking up for Peter when he got bullied, and when that girl in their sixth grade class got her period and everyone was throwing tampons at her, she giggled and joined in, because that was what was expected. Did Josie want to hurt that girls’ feelings? Did she want to be evil? No; because Josie knew it would be awful to be in that position, but she had a reputation to uphold. She pushed aside her real self, losing her in the process, in the desperate attempt to be accepted. 

"Which brings me to Louis Tomlinson,” Harry looked up for the first time, his eyes flashing, making eye contact for Louis, who looked down, his cheeks pink, “Louis Tomlinson is a spitting image of Josie. He has great friends, a great reputation, and when you walk into a room with him in it, you can feel his presence, his laugh, his smile. He cares too much about what people think of him. So much that he lies to himself every day, telling himself he’s okay, and that he’s being himself, but he’s not truly being honest with everyone. And while I’m not here to delve into the secrets of Louis, it is a true fact that he is a coward. He cannot face what really is inside him, denying himself of what he can be, which is happy, instead of this fake happy he’s been pretending to be for so long. His friend used to bully me all the time, and he’d sit back, biting his lip, because yes, it bothered him, but he was too afraid to say anything. Too afraid that he would be defending the ‘awkward gay guy,’ the ‘weird smart kid,’ lest he get deemed soft himself. 

"At the end of the novel, Josie does change and stick up for herself when she shot Matt herself, taking matters into her own hands, finally shedding the fake person she became, getting rid of that skin that made her lose herself. Yes, she has to go to prison, but at least she’s back to who she was, getting rid of the main person who had made her change. Louis, though, hasn’t done this, which is what is the contrasting factor between the two. Which brings me back to my pervious statement: just like Josie Cormier in the beginning of the novel, Louis Tomlinson is a coward.” His voice was shaking by the end, his voice getting louder as he pronounced the insults about himself, his eyes a little watery by the end.

It was so silent in the classroom that you could hear a pin drop. Harry’s hands were shaking, the paper creasing at his tight hold, finally looking up. Louis’ eyes were filled with tears too and he stood up suddenly, his chair screeching at the abruptness. He looked hurt and embarrassed, the whole room staring at the two of them, just keeping each other’s gaze, not backing down. Louis glared at Harry for a moment, his bottom lip quivering, before he turned on his heel and walked out of the classroom, the door slamming behind him.

“Well, um, er, we’ll be picking up where we left off tomorrow,” Professor Trawley awkwardly said after a minute of silence, everyone uncomfortable. Harry was still standing up, staring at the place where Louis stormed out of, his jaw still set and his eyes blazing. The bell rang a moment later, and everyone started murmuring as they left the classroom, whispering and sneaking glances at Harry who still wasn’t moving, no doubt gossiping about what had happened. They all seemed relieved to be out of the tension as well.

Eleanor was still sitting down as she closed her eyes letting her head rest against the cool surface of the desk, taking deep breaths. Now it seemed as if they were un-mendable, the two of them. Harry was mad at Louis, but now Louis has a reason to be equally mad at Harry for being an outright prick. 

“Not cool man,” Niall muttered to Harry as he shook his head, slinging his book bag over his shoulder and heading out the door, no doubt trying to find where Louis ran off to. Harry took in a shaky breath and slid back into his seat next to Eleanor, despite the fact they should be leaving the classroom. They sat silently next to each other, the only sound was Harry breathing heavy from the adrenaline that coursed through his veins as he read. 

“I fucked up, didn’t I?” Harry whispered after a moment. 

Eleanor didn’t respond, she just did a little nod, her head still resting on the desk.

“Well, it’s not like he wanted me anyway,” Harry continued, but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. They sat there for a while, until Professor Trawley gently told them that she had another lecture soon and they needed to leave.

Eleanor and Harry walked back to the dorms in silence, Harry looking remorseful yet still a bit angry, his eyebrows pulled down, and Eleanor just wanted to press her finger to his forehead and smooth out the lines there; she just wanted him and Louis to be happy.

“Harry, if you’re feeling bad about the whole thing-“

“I’m not,” he cut in, but his voice seemed uncertain. Eleanor was about to say something else, but she was cut off by a weird tune that she assumed was Harry’s ringtone. He patted his extremely skinny jeans, fumbling for his phone, until he located it in his back pocket and took it out, breathlessly answering. It was a wonder how he even put the phone in his pockets, considering how tight they were, honestly.

“Oh, hey Nick,” Harry smiled, and Eleanor’s ears perked up. Nick? The Nick that invited Harry over to help him with his project? She put her hand on Harry’s chest to get him to stop walking and then went on her tip toes to try to hear what Nick was saying on the other line. Harry got on to what she was doing and turned his back to her to get her to not hear, but she grabbed his shoulder to try again. They both wrestled as Harry talked, humming in agreement and grunting a bit here and there to try to get Eleanor off him, until Harry smiled and chirped a goodbye to Nick and hung up.

“Was that Nick Grimshaw?” Eleanor demanded before he could even get his phone back in his pockets.

“Yeah, why?” Harry asked, a bit weary.

“Well, what did he want?” she countered.

“He asked me out on a date, actually,” Harry told her, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What!?” Eleanor shrieked. She was pretty sure that the birds in a nearby tree frantically fled from it at the sound of her high pitched exclamation. Eleanor grabbed his forearm with more force than necessary, her eyes wide.

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Harry grumbled, a bit defensive.

“No, it’s not that it’s just… what did you say?”

“Yes. Why wouldn’t I?” Harry raised his eyebrow. They reached the door to their dorms and Eleanor wrenched the metal door open strongly, the door almost slamming into the wall behind it, a pair of brunette girls that were clutching their books to their chest watching wearily.

“Because of Louis, that’s why! Or did you already forget about him after your little stunt in there?” Eleanor said sarcastically, having to jog to keep up with Harry’s fast pace. She almost collided with his body as he swiveled around to glare at her.

“Louis is a dick, okay Eleanor? I’m done with him. I know he’s your friend but there’s nothing between us and nothing ever will be between us. Okay?” Harry said, exasperated. Eleanor was about to argue but she snapped her jaw shut and just nodded defeated. Nothing she would say right now would have Harry change his mind; it would actually probably reel him up more.

“Alright, well,” she took a deep steadying breath, “I’m happy for you with the whole Nick thing. I hope you have fun.” Is what she decided on saying, sticking her hands in her pockets and rocking on her heels.

Harry gave her a weak smile. “Thanks, El. I’ll let you know how it goes.” And with that, he opened the door to his dorm, which Eleanor didn’t even notice they had reached that destination yet. Eleanor stood outside his door long after he shut it, just thinking about everything that had happened.

And she promptly burst into tears.

 

-

 

“Louis, why don’t you just talk to him?” Perrie begged, pushing a cup of coffee towards him with the lid steaming, the steam swirling in the air towards the ceiling. Perrie, Louis, Eleanor, and Niall were seeking warmth and dryness in the coffee shop today, as it was pouring rain outside. Liam had some last minute studying before a huge exam, so he couldn’t join them. It was unnaturally chilly for a spring rain, so each of them were bundled in jackets: Eleanor in an overhead sweatshirt with the uni logo on it, Perrie in a worn leather jacket that looked suspiciously like Zayn’s, Louis in a blue zip up hoodie, and Niall in a sleek yellow raincoat, the hood up and buttoned under his chin. Eleanor didn’t understand why he had his hood all bundled up like that if they were inside, but she shrugged; to be fair, Louis looked dumb too and had the white strings of his hoodie stupidly tied under his neck, as if it were a cape.

Louis didn’t touch the cup, instead choosing to ignore Perrie and look out the window. It was scattered with raindrops, some sliding down the glass. Eleanor remembered as a kid her and her dad would pick out the ones that would make it to the bottom first, a little race, and her daddy would always root for hers as it slid down the window, making her dad pout at her daddy until he apologized with a quick peck. 

All Eleanor could see out the window passed the drops were blurred colors of people running for shelter, some with their hands over their heads, some carrying slicked up shopping bags or with their hair plastered to their faces. Eleanor herself had her hair stuck to her face a bit, the stray pieces that didn’t make it into her ponytail, since it was down pouring as they all ran here. All of them were even dripping a bit onto the seats, Louis’ light blue hoodie turning dark blue from the water.

“Lou?” Perrie prompted again, snapping her fingers. Her nails were painted a silvery color that matched her hair with some intricate black patterns on them, making Eleanor wish she had hers painted. They were seriously bland and bitten from all the stress she’d been under lately.

“Sorry Pez, it’s just that what would I even say? He humiliated me in front of the whole lit class, and made me feel like shit. I doubt he even wants to talk to me,” Louis shrugged, looking really sad, his eyebrows scrunched together, his usually bright eyes dull. Eleanor was pretty sure his hair wasn’t washed either, but it was hair to tell with the way it hung limply on his face from the rain.

“You also hurt him, and even though I don’t know what happened since you refuse to tell anyone, whatever you did really hurt him. And I’m not saying what he did was right, but you just need to talk to each other,” Perrie said softly, putting her small hand over his. 

Before Louis could reply, the bell over the door chimed, signaling a new customer. Louis and Eleanor had their backs to the door, so they couldn’t see who walked in, but Perrie’s blue eyes widened and Niall muttered a quick “shit” before dropping his gaze to his coffee and sipping it frantically.

“What…?” Eleanor started, swiveling in her seat, the seat squeaking from the water on it, before noticing who it was, making her stomach twist. It was Harry, but the cherry on top was that he had Nick in tow. The two of them were laughing, Harry’s curls not wild for once, sticking to the sides of his face, and Nick’s usual quiff was deflating and soaked. 

Eleanor only knew what he looked like after Zayn showed her pictures of him after her pestering Zayn if he was cute or not. She thought he was okay, but nothing compared to Louis. Harry shook out his hair, water droplets flying everywhere, before Nick grabbed his wrist and hauled him over to a booth on the other side of the room, their group going unnoticed by the two. Unfortunately, they still had a perfect view of the two of them as Harry rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them up.

“Lou, we can leave if you want,” Eleanor suggested softly, for he was glaring at Harry’s table furiously, his face and neck blotchy with a flush, his fists clenched on the table.

“Why the fuck is he with Nick Grimshaw?” he growled, his eyes becoming slits.

“Lou hates Nick Grimshaw,” Niall explained to the other too, nodding solemnly. 

“Why?” Perrie asked, turning to Niall, since Louis was being unhelpful.

“Well last year they had Music Theater together, and Nick flaunted his gayness obnoxiously and looked down on anyone who wasn’t hipster or whatever. Louis would say his ideas and Nick would always laugh at them,” Niall shrugged, “I think he’s a pompous asshole as well, but hey.”

“Wait, was he the one who that one time Louis was in sociology that –“ Perrie was about to ask but Louis cut her off, “we don’t talk about that incident!”

Eleanor was curious to what Nick did to Louis in sociology, but she was too scared to ask when Louis was like this. She glanced over at Harry again, who was laughing at something Nick was saying, his head thrown back, but his eyes weren’t as bright as when he laughed at Louis’ jokes. She already didn’t like Nick because he was interfering with Louis and Harry, but she felt guilty because he seemed nice enough, but now that she knew he actually was an arsehole, she disliked him more.

“I’m not gonna leave,” Louis finally said, “wanna move closer?”

“What?” Niall sputtered, “are you suicidal?”

“I wanna hear if he’s having a good time,” Louis said defensively, crossing his arms. He looked so little from the washed down look in the rain, all pouty eyes and lips.

“Why do you even care so much, mate?” Niall asked, confused.

Louis blushed a bit, “I want him to be miserable, that’s why.”

Eleanor tried to catch his eye, but he pointedly looked over to the two again, who looked really close in the little booth. 

“Come on, I’ll be sneaky,” he said, and without waiting for an answer, he slid from their booth, crouching low. They all hissed “Louis!” at him, but he ignored them, scooting towards their booth on his knees, sliding easily on the hardwood floor. The place was really crowded, so he didn’t go unnoticed, some people shooting him curious looks that he ignored. 

“Dear god he is suicidal,” Niall groaned, knocking his head down onto the table.

“Hold on,” Eleanor muttered, getting down on all fours and crawling over to Louis because it was faster, not caring how ridiculous she looked. Niall and Perrie were furiously calling her back, but she ignored them, finally reaching Louis. 

“Are you _crazy?_ ” she demanded, grabbing his elbow.

“I just want to see if he’s happy… without me,” he added the last part quietly and he no longer looked angry, but really sad, “I’m not gay, but-“

“Fine,” Eleanor sighed, cutting off his pointless rant about his sexuality, “look, there’s an empty booth behind them, we can eavesdrop, okay?”

Louis gave the first real smile of the day at that, “thanks El, you’re a real pal.”

“How can you call me a best friend if I can’t eavesdrop on past hookups with you, eh?” she winked. Two waitresses, clad in their black t-shirts and black capris, hair tied up in two high buns, a few tables over were talking and pointing at them, and Eleanor gulped. “We should get into the booth before we get kicked out for being on this floor, which by the way, is disgusting. Do you know how many people have walked on this? And I think I see a wad of gum over there –“ Eleanor started to rant but Louis cut her off with a quiet laugh and a hand over her mouth.

They slid into the booth behind them as quietly as they could, Eleanor facing Harry on opposite ends, Louis and Nick basically back to back. Eleanor and Louis crouched low in their seats, menus over their faces, as they listened in on the conversation.

“… and then he stole my camera and threw it in the water!” Nick was saying, and Harry was giggling again, sipping on the coffee he had ordered. Louis rolled his eyes from the top of his menu and Eleanor giggled at him, because it was a pretty stupid story, even if they didn’t get the beginning of it. Eleanor could tell that Harry wasn’t having that good of a time though, his laugh a little forced, not looking at Nick, mostly staring at his coffee and letting Nick talk the whole time.

“What’s he doing?” Louis whispered to Eleanor.

“Well, Nick’s self-centered. He’s been the one talking this whole time. But Harry looks bored, or well, he’s just not that into it,” Eleanor told him honestly, shrugging.  
“Really?!” Louis exclaimed, a little too loud, and Eleanor shushed him quickly before the two of them hurriedly raised their menus again. Eleanor wasn’t sure if the two of them were looking, but the conversation stopped and she was sure they looked a bit suspicious hiding behind their menus.

“Anyway,” Nick drawled the attention back to him, “let me tell you this crazy story about my friend knocking over a piece in a museum….” Harry visibly sighed at that, but Nick didn’t seem to notice, as Harry picked at a white sugar wrapper and just hummed in agreement every now and then.

“I think we should go,” Eleanor whispered to Louis after a few minutes and he nodded, the two of them slipping out of the booth. They got out just as Harry announced he was going to go to the bathroom and of course, he ran right into Louis. The two bumped into each other and Harry grabbed Louis’ arms to steady him.

“Oh sorry – Louis?” Harry started, his eyes wide, dropping his arms awkwardly.

“H-hey Harry, fancy seeing you here,” Louis mumbled out.

“Hi Louis,” Nick called from the booth, looking a bit malicious, waving at him.

“Okay, um, we were just leaving, so,” Eleanor but in, shooting Harry an apologetic look.

“Yeah…yeah…” Harry said faintly, looking soft at Louis’ washed down appearance and his wide sad eyes, before Harry’s face hardened again. “I’ll see you guys around,” he said curtly, and then hurried off to the bathroom, the door swinging shut behind him.

Louis gave Eleanor a pleading look and they left before Nick could start talking to them, heading over to where Niall and Perrie were still seated, watching the whole scene unfold.

“I told you it was a suicide mission,” Niall shook his head, draining the last of his coffee and crushing the cup in his fingers. Louis just glared and looked over at Nick Grimshaw again, his jaw clenched, before he burst out crying. Niall’s eyes widened and Perrie looked shocked as well, but Eleanor pulled him in for a hug, where he nuzzled his head into her shoulder.

“Don’t…. like….him…hating….me… I…. didn’t…mean… to….hurt…him,” Louis hiccupped out, “I’m… just…. _scared_.”

“I know Lou, I know,” Eleanor cooed, running her fingers over his hair. Perrie looked at him sympathetically and rubbed her hand down the side of his arm, but Niall just looked uncomfortable at the aspect of one of his guy friends crying in front of him.

“Come on Lou, let’s get you home,” Eleanor finally said as he was gaining his breath again in little labored intakes of air. She felt his head nod against her shoulder and he pulled back, wiping his eyes furiously to get rid of the tears there. His eyes were still puffy and red, but no one mentioned it to him as they slid out of the booth, leaving the money on the table, and headed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That might have been a bit shorter than the last few but whatever! Poor Louis, eh? Feed back is appreciated as always xx


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't been posting as much, I've been really stressed with school so I'm gonna try to update asap :)

A month went by.

Both Louis and Harry were too stubborn to fix whatever happened between the two of them, avoiding each other at all costs once more. 

Louis was throwing his frustrations into the musical, since the practices were every day after school, it provided him a nice distractions from the questions plaguing his mind. Was he gay? What would he tell his family? What would everyone in school think? Would they even care? Would Harry do anything about it? Did he want anything with Harry? He had voiced his questions to Eleanor frequently, all the while pulling on his hair and biting his lip in concentration and frustration. It was progress in Eleanor’s eyes, though, because he was considering the fact he could be gay instead of outright denying it and cowering whenever the word ‘gay’ came about.

Harry was throwing his frustrations into Nick. Yes, he even admitted that Nick was self-indulged, but Harry said he liked kissing him when he was lonely and when blue eyes plagued his mind. They went on a lot of dates that consisted of Nick talking about himself and Harry pretending he was listening until they could get to the kissing part. They haven’t gone any farther apparently, from what Eleanor gathered, but she was hoping they didn’t because if she remembered correctly Louis was Harry’s first everything. 

Zayn and Perrie were officially dating, on a side note, to Eleanor’s glee. She’s caught them making out on her bed more than she could count, both of them in random states of undress, Perrie blushing and apologizing profusely as she quickly gathered her clothes and ran out, Zayn glaring at her for the interruptions as he zipped up his jeans. Sometimes Eleanor closed the door quick enough before she interrupted them too bad, in which case she’d groan and make her way over to Harry or Louis’ dorm to seek refuge for a few hours until she knew it was safe to come back. 

It was finally opening night for Grease, in which case Louis was promptly freaking out. Their group was at the picnic benches, where Louis was pacing back and forth, mumbling his lines under his breath and getting frustrated. It was all amusing to Niall and Liam, but Perrie was attempting to help him while pretending to be Sandy. She wasn’t really helping, since she stumbled over the lines even with the script and her “Sandy voice” was too high pitched, but she was trying. Eleanor glanced over from time to time, but it was a beautiful day and she sat atop the wooden picnic table, leaning on her arms and tilting her face up towards the sun to get a bit of color. The table was rough from a lot of use under her palms, and she just hoped she wasn’t getting any splinters. 

She noticed Harry and Nick walking around campus in the distance, holding hands, and she rolled her eyes, closing them. Harry was starting to get on her last nerve about Nick. She understood why Harry was doing it, she just was upset that he wasn’t even trying with Louis anymore. Ed was annoyed too, saying Nick couldn’t even come back to their dorm, because he was “pretentious and an annoying prick.” In consequence, Harry was at Nick’s dorm more often than not, to Eleanor’s chagrin. She carefully avoided the subject around Louis.

“Tell me about it, slick,” Perrie voiced, pouting sexily at Louis and leaning on her back leg. Eleanor giggled, her eyes still shut towards the sun. 

“No, no Perrie, it’s _stud_ , not _slick_ ,” Louis sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

“Pez, I think you’re making him worse,” Liam said gently, although the statement was a bit harsh in itself. Perrie pouted for real this time, her red lipsticked lips sticking out prettily.

“I’m just trying to help,” she whined, automatically running her fingers through her extensions. She developed the habit ever since she got them, but Eleanor was just concerned she would end up pulling them out. Perrie’s hair was still silvery, yet it was a little more blonde than it used to be, and now long and flowy, down past her boobs. Eleanor thought the look was flattering, yet different for her, since her personality was so bubbly and girly, but her new hair was paired with a black beanie, making her look a bit edgy.  
“I know, I’m sorry, I’m just nervous, that’s all,” Louis explained, throwing an arm around her shoulder, “you know you’re still my girl. My noble steed or whatever shit.” Perrie’s hooped nose ring perked up as she scrunched her nose at him, shoving her arm off her shoulder.

“Just stop worrying, ya jerk, you’ll do fine,” Perrie told him, hopping up on the table next to Eleanor, “ouch! Okay, wow, oh Nelly, I definitely just got thirty splinters on my bum,” she winced, making everyone laugh. 

“On that note, the teach wants us there early for last minute dress ups and shit, so I gotta go,” Louis explained, “see you all tonight and even if I suck you have to tell me I’m perfect and shower me with roses, okay?” he added, walking backwards towards the auditorium.

“Of course John Travolta,” Eleanor smirked, saluting him as he walked away. He laughed and saluted her back and turned around, continuing walking. Eleanor knew he’d smash it tonight, even if his Harry wasn’t there to see him, no matter how sad that made her.

 

-

 

The lights were still bright by the time Eleanor and the rest of the group slipped in the second row that was reserved for them, the show not yet started. Zayn decided he wanted to go because even though he wasn’t the closest with Louis, he was dating Perrie and he was always fond of the lad. Some sort of soft classical music played from huge black speakers hanging on the wall, to fill the audiences’ ears while they waited. The excitement and anticipation was thick in the air and Eleanor could feel it through her, as if she was the one that was about to perform. The auditorium seemed bigger than last time, all of the previously empty seats filled with varieties of people, all chatting quietly or flipping through the colorful pamphlets handed out at the doors by eager freshman. 

Eleanor wondered what was going on backstage. It was probably filled with nervous pep talks, last minute frantic costume fixing, flurries of people scurrying about. She remembered watching a documentary about this kind of stuff, when she came home and found her daddy asleep in a recliner chair, and the program was already on so she decided to watch it. She guessed that one lead was definitely having a nervous breakdown and crying. The stage manager was probably running around, shouting things into his ear piece, his stomach churning, because he knew the play had to go well and it was _his_ job. There were also groups reciting lines last minute, stumbling over their lines nervously, praying that they would flow right on stage. 

Louis was among these people, and it was his first play, and Eleanor really wished she could be backstage to comfort him from the insufferable nerves he was having. She knew Harry would comfort him nicely, she thought with a sigh – when Louis would be annoyed or being overdramatic about something, he’d look down at his phone and see Harry’s name, and his little rant would end and he’d just end with a small little smile on his face as he replied. Eleanor _missed_ that, and she was really just praying another opportunity arose for her to get her dads together. Not even really for her sake anymore, about getting home and whatnot – she just wanted them to be happy for once.

“Ladies and gentleman, put your hands together for the University of London’s first time rendition of Grease!” a young man in a crisp white shirt came out, grinning manically, his higher pitched voice filling in the now quiet auditorium. There was a baby in the background crying, which annoyed Eleanor to no end, because come on, leave your child at home. The guy cleared his throat and then proceeded to grin again, “enjoy the show!” Eleanor was really surprised at his voice, expecting some sort of deep booming voice to be picked for the announcer, but then the lights dimmed and she turned her attention to the stage.

As the thick red curtains parted, it revealed Louis in his slicked up hair, his jeans and leather jacket, his “Danny” smolder on his face, as well all of the T-Birds surrounding him. Niall involuntarily cheered really loud, leaping out of his seat, and got shushed by a woman a few seats down. He blushed and sat back down, but Eleanor could relate. He looked really good up there, and she was really proud of him to have the guts to try out for the play to begin with, let alone carry it out. Louis’ lips quirked up a bit at Niall’s jump, fighting the urge to smile, but he kept his composure. 

The set was painted beautifully and intricately, very detailed, and making Eleanor really wish she had artistic abilities, not for the first time. She knew if Harry was there, he’d be staring at it, probably pointing out the different techniques they used to get the textures right. 

She snapped her attention back to Louis as he started to speak, his lines coming out fluently and just with the right amount of emotion to not make it over done. Her lips quirked up against her will, her heart swelling with pride again. That was her _daddy_ up there, doing what he loved, and he was _good_. Hell, he was way better than she expected.

The show went perfectly. Their group stood up and clapped and whooped the loudest as Louis came on stage at curtain call, Liam whistling and Perrie jumping up and down, but it was even better than even without their input, Louis had the whole auditorium cheering, clapping loudly and looking impressed with his performance. And even though he was sweaty and a little tired, his chest panting slightly, Louis was _beaming_. He dramatically bowed, his crinkly-eyed Louis smile coming out, his eyes brighter than usual, gleaming with pride and tears. Eleanor was pretty sure she’d never seen him so happy.

She looked around the auditorium at the smiling faces and their hands clapping as the other cast members stepped forward to be recognized, and saw a flash of curly hair in her peripheral vision. She swiveled around in her chair and craned her neck over the crowd, trying to see if she imagined it, but she saw Harry’s unmistakable lanky body in the back row, trying to squeeze out unnoticed, his eyebrows pulled together. Eleanor knew she probably had a few more minutes because Harry was too polite to shove his way through, so she mumbled a quick “excuse me” to Perrie and weaved through the bodies to get to Harry. He turned back and her eyes connected with his green and they widened, before he turned and walked more quickly towards the door.

“Harry, wait!” she called, confusion evident in her voice. Why was he here? Surely he couldn’t still be mad at Louis if he came to his show…. But what about Nick? Eleanor’s thoughts were whizzing around in her head but she silenced them, staying determined to get to Harry before he could slip away. She caught her toe on someone’s black dress shoe and almost ended up on the floor, due to her clumsiness, but she caught herself on one of the velvet chairs in time. The man she tripped over started to apologize profusely and Eleanor hummed in response, but in that moment, she lost Harry’s bobbing head in the crowd. Her eyes quickly scanned the peoples’ faces so quickly they started to blur, but she couldn’t see him everywhere.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath. 

“El! Louis is expecting us!” Perrie’s voice was suddenly next to her as the girl grabbed Eleanor by her thin bracelet covered hand and dragged her towards the backstage area. Eleanor almost stumbled over her feet again but Perrie’s iron grip on her kept her balanced. She resisted the urge to go look over her shoulder to see if Harry was there, but she knew he was already out of her sight. 

Pushing her thoughts away, she approached Louis’ beaming face, a smile blooming on her face as well. He still looked ecstatic and overwhelmed over everything that had just happened, just this time carrying a few roses.

“Lou! You were great!” Eleanor exclaimed, grabbing him into a bone crushing hug, flinging her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder. She could smell a bit of sweat and hairspray on him, and the leather was a bit uncomfortable on her face, but she didn’t really mind in the moment.

His arms wrapped around her just as tight. “Thank you,” he whispered in her ear, his voice earnest. She knew it wasn’t just for her compliment; she knew that he meant for everything. If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have convinced himself to be in the play, let alone even try out. 

“Of course daddy,” she mumbled before thinking. She got caught up in the moment and the embrace felt so familiar, like when she’d get hurt and she had her daddy pull her in close and she’d always bury her head in his shoulder. It was their hug, and in that moment she felt like she was back home in her older daddy’s embrace.

“Daddy?” Louis asked as he backed away, his expression bemused, “I mean I know we’re close but Daddy’s a bit weird. Makes me sound like your pimp or something.”

Eleanor’s eyes widened and she felt her face heat up. Shit, shit, shit. “D-Daddy-o,” she tried to cover it up, punching him in the shoulder, “you know, like ‘what’s up Daddy-o?’” she forced a laugh and a smile that probably looked more like a grimace.

“I seriously don’t know why I hang out with you,” Louis shook his head, laughing at Eleanor’s babbling and awkward explanation.

“You’re one to talk!” Eleanor shoved him playfully and he laughed again, before he got mobbed by more fans, getting flanked by people shouting praises at him. He really was amazing in the play; she knew he could sing form his audition but his acting was ace he could actually dance as well. Not John Travolta level, of course, but it definitely made the cut.

“Pints!” Niall exclaimed over the babbling of the crowd, “let’s go celebrate with pints!”

Perrie cheered and Liam and Zayn nodded. “Celebrate our shining star!” he praised, clapping Louis on the back. Louis’ face heat up with a blush but his eyes were sparkling.  
“Sounds like the perfect plan to me,” Eleanor agreed, grabbing her purse off of her seat. And it was a perfect plan; all she wanted to do was celebrate her daddy’s success. 

 

-

 

“What a day!” Eleanor exclaimed when she and Zayn entered their dorm later that night. She twirled around, her light brown hair spinning around her and flung her purse off of her shoulder. It landed on a pile of her clothes on the bed with a soft thump.

“I’m guessing you’re sudden weird attitude is because of the party we got invited to by Ed?” Zayn smirked as he shrugged off his leather jacket. She really didn’t understand why he still wore the thing; it was getting inhumanly hot these days as summer was just around the corner.

“If you must know, yes, but not because it’s a _party,_ I’m not _twelve,_ ” she rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips, “you must know that this party is my last chance at salvaging Louis and Harry’s relationship. It’s probably _the_ party they got together, since the last one didn’t quite cut it, yeah?”

Their group had bumped into Ed at the club they bought pints at, hanging out with some music mates, and he enthusiastically insisted they went to the party that Saturday that some frat was hosting. They all agreed full heartedly, and Eleanor not so nonchalantly asked if Harry was going. Fortunately, Ed was drunk enough to not care, even if she did get a stomp on the foot by Louis, but Ed nodded and informed them of Harry’s presence. She wanted to go farther and ask if Nick was showing, but Louis cut in with a hasty goodbye and yanked her away from Ed to their table where the others were already beginning to settle into.

The night itself was fun to kick back and enjoy some beer with her friends, but the whole time Eleanor couldn’t fight off her giddy mood, her mind already calculating ways to get the pair together once and for all. She even went so far as to buy another round for everyone, enthusiastically pulling out her wallet. She then realized she didn’t have any money, so Louis saved her, but the intent was still there.

“I’m guessing you have a plan?” Zayn asked as he settled into his couch bed, toeing off his black shoes, “thank god. My back kills from sleeping on this couch,” he teased, folding his arms beneath his head. 

“I’ll have you know, Zayn, that I am the best roommate you could get,” Eleanor sniffed, “but, yes, I’m working on one.”

“Hopefully it’ll work,” Zayn mused, “because summer is around the corner, and then we all go home. It’ll be super tough to get them together if they’re not at uni.”  
Eleanor sighed. He did have a point. “Don’t bring me down from my high!” she chastised him, “encourage me!”

Zayn laughed. “Okay, you’re going to make them fall head over heels in love so that historians and authors will be writing about their eternal love for centuries!” he cried, over dramatic, clutching his heart to his chest.

“They’ll be the next Romeo and Juliet, but without the deaths, and there will be a little more gayness involved!” she cried, laughing and plopping down next to Zayn on the couch.  
Zayn chuckled along and then they fell silent, only in the way they could, both with goofy grins on their faces. 

“I’m really gonna miss you, you know,” Zayn said softly into the quiet of the dorm. Eleanor felt a tug at her heart and looked over to Zayn’s earnest face, a sad smile on his lips.

“Zayn,” Eleanor said just as softly, resting her hand lightly on his calf, “you’ll see me once I get back to my time.”

“You know it won’t be the same,” Zayn sighed, pushing himself up from his laying position. 

“Stop that! It will be, okay? I’ll have you know, me and you are pretty tight in my time,” she smiled at him, nudging his shoulder. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he grinned, “the time machine is done, by the way. I was researching on ways I could possible make elecrtraform and I finally got the hang of it. And I fixed all the glitches that occurred when you landed. It’s good as new.” 

“What? No way!” she exclaimed, sitting up in bed, excited. She tried to see Zayn in the dark but could only see his dark silhouette laid out on the couch. 

“Uh huh,” Zayn smiled, a little pride creeping into his voice.

“Seriously? I wow, Zayn you’re amazing thank you.” It hit her there; if her plan worked, she was really going home. She didn’t even have the excuse that the time machine wasn’t working. It made her feel inexplicably sad for a moment, but she pushed those thoughts down. She was going _home_. That’s all that mattered.

Zayn chuckled as Eleanor laid back down, a huge grin settling on her face. “Now let’s get some sleep. It’s been a long day,” Zayn suggested, the couch squeaking a bit as he shifted around to get comfortable. Eleanor nodded at that and said her goodnights to Zayn before heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Saturday was tomorrow, which means she only had one night to form her plan, and she thought things over as she brushed her teeth in the mirror, too much toothpaste overflowing from her mouth.

She needed to get them both drunk enough to be vulnerable, but not too drunk to get angry and yell at each other. She also needed them alone; especially away from Nick, which might be hard at a party, if he was even there. She also needed Louis to want to go public; she knew that in the past that didn’t happen, but she just had a gut feeling that she needed to do it. Wasn’t that what her daddy had said? That Harry had grown resentful of the way Louis always wanted to be closeted? She could only hope she could achieve it. Louis was really stubborn when he wanted to be.

Once she was settled in bed, her mind was still racing, but she forced her eyes shut, throwing her arm over them, lying on her back. It was hard to quiet her thoughts, but eventually she fell into fitful sleep.

 

-

 

“Isn’t this the same house the other party was at?” Zayn asked skeptically, staring up at the Greek lettering broadcasted on the door. He hands looked as if they wanted to be in the pockets of his leather jacket, his hands fidgeting for a place to be, but Perrie had insisted it was too hot for it. It was a particularly humid night, the air sticky enough that Eleanor worried she would be sporting an afro in the near future instead of the soft curls she curled down her back earlier. She donned a tight floral pink top and dark jean shorts with pretty strappy sandals, wanting to dress up for the warmer weather. 

It was finally time for the party, the one Eleanor was stressing about all day, and she couldn’t really bother with petty details such as the house the party was held in. Although, she did notice that the letter in the other house were a startling shade of green and these were blue. There wasn’t as much shrubbery in front of the house as well, and the siding was more made out of a chestnut wood instead of the deep red bricks the other house sported.

“No, different,” was all she said, shrugging her shoulders that sparkled a bit with the body glitter Perrie encouraged her to put on as they trundled out of her dorm earlier.

“Who _cares_?” Niall grinned, his cheeks already turning a faint rosy color, shoving the two out of the way to get in the door. A lot of people lifted their red solo cups to Niall as greeting as he lit up the whole room with his presence. Eleanor nodded her head to people that looked vaguely familiar, but she had a mission tonight, and she would not dwell on normal party actions. Although, a beer _did_ seem nice, but she refrained and scanned the dark room for Harry, hoping he was there already. It was hard to see in the darkness and the moving bodies, some animatedly talking or dancing, but she finally saw Harry in the back, swirling his drink around in his cup, a bored expression on his face. Of course, Nick was next to him, large hands gesturing wildly as he told his tale no doubt about himself, but Harry wasn’t interested.

“Harry!” she called, hoping he could hear her over the music. Some annoying rap song about drinking was blaring, which was typical for the frat parties. It’s not as if they’re known for their good music taste. But, Eleanor had to admit, the beat was pretty catchy, making her heart thump from the bass being so loud, feeling the music buzz throughout her whole body.

“Hey El!” he looked relieved to see her, genuinely grinning his dimpled smile. As she pulled him in for a hug, the smell of his cinnamon gum tinged a tiny bit with beer, she realized how much she missed him. He was with Nick far too much for her liking, but, if all went well tonight, that would end anyway, so she couldn’t complain too much.

“How’ve you been?” he asked, and then whistled, “damn, are you fighting those boys off with a stick? Look at you,” he grinned cheekily, his arms spread wide as if gesturing to her beauty.

“Stop that,” she shook her head, her cheeks red as she swatted at him, laughing.

He laughed along, scanning the crowd. “So, um, who did you come with?” he tried to sound nonchalant, but Eleanor knew where he was going. Nick was conveniently talking to someone else, distracted, not listening to what Harry and Eleanor were saying.

“Oh, you know,” Eleanor casually flicked her hand, “Zayn, Perrie, Niall, Liam, Lou.” She not so subtly emphasized his name, raising her eyebrow, and Harry’s face flashed with an unnamable emotion, but his cheeks reddened.

“Oh, cool,” he shrugged, suddenly busy with his drink, although the cup was clearly empty of any liquid, making Eleanor roll her eyes.

“You should talk to him,” she gave him a stern look, and she didn’t have to specify who for Harry’s eyes to flicker sadly. They looked bluer than usual in the lighting, not the usual bright green that usually looked so happy and sparkly.

“Louis hates me,” he said, his voice getting firm, “and I hate him. End of story.”

“Fine,” Eleanor lifted her hands, showing her innocence. She was going to try to do it the easy way, getting the two to talk on their own civilly and normal, but she knew she had to set her plan in motion, since that clearly wasn’t going to happen. “but see, can you do me a favor? Totally off topic, but I’ve been meaning to ask you. See, my friend, Dave, wants to be a photographer, right? So he was telling me he wants a daring picture, really controversial, to get the eye of his professor, and I suggested, why not get one of a gay couple kissing? Because like, a lot of people are against it and yada yada yada, but you and Nick are both very attractive so it would make a good picture. I suggested you guys and he was totally into the idea, he’s really excited. So is it a yes?” She clasped her hands together, giving Harry her brightest, most expectant eyes, as if Harry saying yes would mean the world to her.

Harry wrung his hands together uncomfortably, looking away, his face red again. “Er, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“What? Why?” she asked, making her voice sound wounded, her eyebrows pulling together.

“I’m sorry El, but I’m not really comfortable being on film, and like kissing and stuff, I don’t know,” he tried explaining.

“Please?” she bit her lip, her eyes pleading. Damn she should really be an actress because she felt so confident in her performance as Harry mulled it over, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Fine, just ‘cause I love you.”

“Yay!” she clapped, “he’s here now, should I go get him?” she hooked her thumb over her shoulder, gesturing to the other rooms.

“ _Now?_ You want to do it now?” he asked, really confused.

“Do what now?” Nick slotted his way back into the conversation. His hair was deflating a little in the hotness of the house, making Eleanor smirk to herself. He looked ridiculous.

“Kiss for my friend Dave, for a photo,” she explained quickly, “now please practice while I go get him. I want the shot to be just right.” She threw them an encouraging thumbs up, grinning, and swiveled on her heel to head into the other rooms. She had to push past sweaty bodies, some sticky and gross, but she made it to the sanctuary of the kitchen. She was hoping that they were listening to her, or her plan wouldn’t work. Now she just had to find Louis.

What she did find was Liam. “Hey Li,” she greeted him, not realizing he was chatting up a pretty girl that had wavy blonde highlighted hair, a hint of brown mixed at the roots and the back layers, that was perched on the green marble countertop. She was short and her face was bright, eyes a sparkly green; she really looked like someone Eleanor might have been friends with. They both paused at her, Liam smiling when he saw who it was.

“Hey El,” he answered, “this is Meghan. Meghan, this is my good friend Eleanor,” he introduced. Eleanor hurriedly shook the girls extended hand, almost dislocating her shoulder by shaking it too firmly. Meghan shot her a confused look, shaking out her hand and flexing her fingers when she pulled away. She still had a smile on her face, even if it had a bemused lilt to it.

“Sorry to interrupt, but do you know where Louis is? It’s urgent,” Eleanor fired at him, past the pretenses.

“Er, other room I reckon,” Liam answered, “the one with the bean bag chairs.”

Eleanor shouted quick thanks as she hurriedly headed to the other room, even though she didn’t remember any room with bean bag chairs. She found it easily enough, a few people lounging on them, one girl lying flat on her stomach on a yellow one, commenting how squishy it was under her, even though it appeared she wasn’t talking to anyone in particular. 

Louis was sitting cross legged on a powder blue one, talking to a pretty girl with dark waves and pretty blue eyes, which really irked Eleanor. She stomped over, not caring how rude she was being.

“Hi Lou!” she chirped brightly, interrupting the girl mid-sentence. The girl looked up, bemused, but Eleanor was only looking at Louis, who looked slightly annoyed. His white shirt that was buttoned up to his chin earlier was already unbuttoned, showing the tattoo on his chest, but then Eleanor focused on his face.

“Niall is throwing up buckets, I need your help,” she said, not waiting for him to chastise her for interrupting his little flirt session with Pretty Girl. Stupid, stupid, wavy hair.

His annoyed expression turned to one of worry. “Shit, wow, it’s so early, this is new,” Louis blabbered, hoisting himself up, almost kicking over a stray beer bottle next to him. “Niall can usually handle his alcohol, did someone like drug him?”

Eleanor didn’t answer as she grabbed his wrist, pulling him away from Pretty Girl before he could say goodbye. Louis squeaked in response but didn’t protest her aggressiveness, just staggering along behind her. 

She got back to the room she left Harry in, by far the largest room in the house, with the most people. Eleanor shoved them out of the way, less graceful about it than she was the first time around, a lot of people shooting her irritated looks. She heard Louis mumbling apologies to everyone, making her snort, but it got lost in the noise of the room.

She scanned the room as she went, finally noticing Harry and Nick. They were exactly where she left them, and they were snogging, just as she wanted. Nick’s hands were roaming Harry’s back, Harry’s placed delicately on Nick’s hips, their bodies close, but not close enough to seem as if both parties were thoroughly enjoying it. It did the trick, though, because Louis halted in his tracks, his lips parting a bit in surprise. Then his eyebrows pulled down, his eyes filling up a bit, and he looked so incredibly sad Eleanor almost regretted doing this to him. He turned on his heel and stalked up the stairs, taking deep breaths the whole while. 

“Lou, wait!” Eleanor called, running after him. He was supposed to confront Harry there, but Eleanor anticipated him running away, so she trudged after him, knowing it was her time to shine and convince him to talk to Harry now that he definitely knew his feelings. Because he had to by now; if he wasn’t gay, he wouldn’t care if Harry was making out with Nick right in front of his face.

Louis pushed open the white swinging door to the bathrooms, Eleanor pushing in right behind him, not caring it was a boys’ bathroom. Some guys at the sinks were giving her weird looks, and okay, she didn’t know that frats even _had_ bathrooms with multiple sinks and stalls, but apparently they do, and at the moment Eleanor really, _really_ didn’t care.

“Lou, what’s wrong, talk to me!” she asked him. He slipped into a stall and bolted the door shut in Eleanor’s stunned face, the blue door almost hitting her straight in the nose.

“Just go away!” Louis called, his voice thick. The other guys left by then, not wanting to get involved why an upset boy and a loud girl were arguing in the bathroom, so the two of them were alone in the bathroom. Eleanor tried not to look around, because she didn’t want to throw up, but the place was seriously gross. There were mysterious stains on the walls and a broken mirror in the middle of the room, and one stall didn’t even have a door. What even was the point of that? And the smell was _wretched._

“I’m not going anywhere,” Eleanor told him, tapping her sandaled feet on the blue tiles on the floor, making a faint clacking noise.

“It’s just,” Louis started, the stall door swinging open so abruptly Eleanor jumped, “I like him, okay?” He was dabbing at his nose with toilet paper, so much his nose was turning a bit red. He looked at himself in the cracked mirror, it displaying three different images of red-nosed Louis, six pairs of sad blue eyes staring back at him. He then let his head fall, his shoulders slumped, his fringe falling in his face.

“Who?” Eleanor prompted, rubbing her hand comfortingly over his back.

“Harry,” he sighed, head still down. Eleanor didn’t say anything, still rubbing his back, waiting for him to continue. “Like, I just like him _so much_. Even before we hooked up at that party, which did happen, by the way. He’s so dorky, but in a cute way, and he’s smart and funny and just stupidly _pretty_ , and I want to kiss him all the time and I’m gay, okay I’m gay and I’m scared and I don’t know what to _do_.”

Eleanor let out a shaky breath, resisting the urge to laugh in relief as well, but she knew that wouldn’t help. She tried to act as if she didn’t know. “Lou, it’s okay, it really is, I think you should just talk to him.”

Louis lifted his head, his eyes confused. “Didn’t you hear me? Don’t you care? I’m _gay_ ,” he wrinkled his nose up, “It sounds so weird to say.”

Eleanor laughed this time. “I don’t care that you’re gay Louis, I don’t care at all, honestly. I’m relieved that you figured this out, especially because I care about you and Harry, and he’s been hurt by all of this. I think you need to make it right.”

Louis frowned, looking guilty. “I know I hurt him really bad. God I’m a fucking idiot.”

Eleanor gave him a small smile, “No you’re not, Lou, you were scared. Understandably. I’m proud of you, okay? And trust me, if you ever wanted to come out to everyone, I’m sure everyone would be supportive. And people who didn’t know you wouldn’t care, because you’d still be the same bubbly, lovable Louis. And if they cared, screw them, you know? You have me, and your true friends who would stick by you no matter what you do.”

“Yeah,” Louis gave her a small smile back, “yeah. Thanks, El, I really wouldn’t know what I would do without you.” He brought her in for a tight hug, almost knocking the air out of her lungs, but she didn’t complain as she hugged him back just as fierce. She wanted him to make it public, but the first step was to admit he was gay, and the second was the get Harry to forgive him. She’d deal with the rest later. This was _good_. No, it was better than good.

“I fucking _knew_ it!” came a voice neither from Eleanor, nor Louis, from one of the other stalls. Louis pulled back abruptly, fear in his eyes. Eleanor was sure her face just looked confused, until she saw who it was, and her face turned hard.

_Stan._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UH OHHHH


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while I've been super duper busy! xx

“S-Stan! Were you here the whole time? Louis stuttered, his face burning bright red. He looked genuinely terrified. Eleanor couldn’t blame him; he just figured out he was gay himself, he didn’t need some dick to throw it back in his face.

“Yeah,” Stan snorted, “I knew when you came in here blubbering like a baby something was up, so I eavesdropped.” He shrugged, unperturbed by the fact he was shamelessly eavesdropping on them. Louis wasn’t red anymore; his face actually turned the color of the white walls.

“I knew you were a fucking fairy, always defending Harry and shit, this is rich,” Stan cackled, “popular little life of the party Louis, the one all the people wanted to be friends with and girls wanted to date is fucking gay!”

“Stan, knock it off,” Eleanor warned, subtly pushing Louis a little behind her, going into Mamma Bear mode.

“What? Because he’s a faggot? A freak?” Stan smirked, “Can’t wait to tell everyone.” He shook his head, his dark hair shaking with it, before taking off out the door. The silence was ominous after he left; the only sound was the door still swinging on his hinges from the force Stan pushed it. Every time it swung open, the sounds of the party got loud until they were muffled again once it closed, back and forth, loud and soft.

Louis didn’t stay there for long, and without saying a word to Eleanor, he sprinted after Stan. Eleanor groaned, muttering profanities under her breath, because _of course_ Stan would ruin the most important moment in Louis’ life. She padded after him, going as fast as her sandals allowed, even though they pinched her toes with every step.

She caught up to them just as Stan reached the main room, jogging over to the stereo and lowering it. Some people booed and threw empty cups at him, but he laughed and swatted them away. 

“I have an announcement,” he shouted, getting up on the coffee table.

“Please, no,” Louis whispered, looking up at Stan with pleading eyes, but Stan just rolled his and turned back to the party. He had everyone’s attention now. Eleanor quickly squeezed Louis’ hand in comfort, because she knew the inevitable was going to happen.

“You all know Louis Tomlinson, right?” he said, dragging it out, making it more dramatic. Eleanor scanned the room, praying Harry was in it, because if Louis was going down this way, he might as well have Harry hear it. There he was, still in the corner, Nick no longer draped all over him, eyes curious and on Stan. Looking a little annoyed, if Eleanor was being honest, probably because Harry knew with Stan nothing good could come out of it. Nick looked bored, chewing on a piece of ice and clicking away on his phone.

“Weeellll,” Stan smirked, “I just found out our little social butterfly is not as straight as he may seem.” A few snickers went about the room, but most looked curious. “He is actually Kinsey 6 gay, aka likes dick, and has a crush on none only than Harry Styles. He was actually crying about it earlier in the bathroom.”

Harry’s eyes flickered to Louis’ mortified face, his ashamed face, his scared face, and Harry’s eyes looked worried in themselves, as if he was hoping Louis was okay. He also looked a bit happy, not at Louis’ misfortune, but there was a brightness in his eyes Eleanor hadn’t seen in weeks, probably due to the fact Stan showed Louis liked Harry.

All other eyes turned to Louis as well, the room quiet, waiting to see how he’d react. This would be the perfect moment for him to deny it, blame it on Stan being drunk and an asshole, forget the whole thing, stay in the closet. Really, who would blame him, since he literally came out to himself minutes earlier, and now the whole party knew. Most gay people waited a long time before coming out, only when they were ready, and here Stan was, forcing him out of the closet. 

Eleanor expected him to deny it, based on the fact that her Daddy told her how adamant he was on hiding in his youth. But he looked at Eleanor, her encouraging face, probably thinking about what she said earlier, and then he looked at Harry’s expectant face, and he took a deep breath.

“Yeah, I am gay,” Louis announced. Some people started murmuring, but he paid no attention to them. “I’m super gay, I like dick, and wow I’ve been in love with Harry Styles for a really long time now, and God I’m such an idiot, but I’m so tired of pretending, and being scared of what other people think of me. If you think I’m weird for being gay, then that’s your own fault.”

Some people clapped, some smiled, but some shrugged and went back to their drinks, turning away. Eleanor was expecting something more dramatic after Louis’ speech, maybe some pitch forks and spewing profanities at him, or maybe a standing ovation, but truthfully, no one really cared. He was the same Louis; and some people genuinely looked happy for him.

“Yeah man, Stan’s a dick for wasting our time!” Niall shouted from the other side of the room, bright grin on his face, “Now someone turn on the music, because I’m pretty sure this is a fucking party, yeah?”

At that, everyone started whooping and cheering as Niall turned the dial up loud so the bass started thumping again. Stan looked annoyed his little stunt didn’t get the reaction he wanted, brushing past Louis forcibly with his shoulder. Louis looked a little dazed at the whole thing, and Eleanor turned to him and beamed. She gave him another bone crushing hug, but this time, she felt all the tension in his shoulders gone. He looked like he was ready to sob from relief and being overwhelmed.

“Thank you, El,” he whispered. She didn’t respond, not sure what to say, because she felt like the thank you was so heavy she didn’t need to say anything back; she just hugged him tighter. He knew she didn’t mind helping him, that she accepted his thanks. She knew that without her, he probably wouldn’t have had the courage to come out.

When she pulled away, she noticed Harry standing there, a small smile on his face. She liked the fact that he was wearing his glasses to this party, not even bothering to try to seem cool here. He also had his famous beanie on, and it was just more like him, and it made Eleanor smile.

“I’ll, er, leave you two alone,” she winked and Louis chuckled under his breath. She obviously was going to eavesdrop, but they didn’t have to know that. She slinked over to the wall, them still in her line of vision and hearing as they pulled into a quieter corner.

“So,” Harry started, his dimple out, his eyes bright.

“So,” Louis mirrored his expression, and the adoration in both of their eyes was ridiculous. It seemed as if the rest of the party melted away.

“Did you really mean all of that stuff? Where you’re in love with me?” Harry asked, biting his bottom lip, looking hopeful.

Louis let out a shaky laugh, rubbing the back of his neck, “said a little too much there. But yeah. I have been for a long time. And, I’m just so, so, sorry for denying everything, and being such a dick to you, I just didn’t know how to deal with it and I’m so sorry I just – oomph!!”

Louis’ babbling apology was cut off by Harry’s lips crushing themselves to his, Harry throwing his long arms around Louis’ neck, almost throwing him off his balance. Louis was stunned for a second before his lips responded, smiling into the kiss because it seemed like he physically couldn’t stop himself from smiling. 

“I love you too, Louis, that’s why I got so upset, I’ve literally had a crush on you since the first day of school, and I would always want to talk to you but I was too nervous and God I can’t believe this is happening and we’re actually both sober,” Harry rambled on Louis’ lips in between kisses. Louis placed his hands around Harry’s waist and interlocked his fingers behind Harry, as if locking him in place.

“Seriously? God Harry you’re so adorable,” Louis giggled, before he deepened the kiss boldly by ripping off Harry’s beanie and tossing it to the floor and running his fingers in Harry’s curls, slipping his tongue into Harry’s mouth. Harry squeaked at that, making Eleanor giggle and shake her head before heading off to really give them privacy. She heard Niall yelling at them to get a room behind her and she looked over her shoulder to see Louis flipping his off, much to Niall’s delight as he cackled loudly.

She passed Nick who was glaring, his mouth open, before clenching his fists and heading over to them. Eleanor paused to watch and a few other people did, whispering as Nick stopped in front of them, clearing his throat loudly.

“What the fuck is this Harry?” Nick asked, angry. But underneath his stony expression, he looked a bit hurt. He crossed his arms across his chest, waiting.

Harry paused, looking over at Nick, looking guilty, his lips red and swollen, his breathing coming out in pants. “I… I’m sorry Nick, but we have to break up. I haven’t been honest with you, I just… I’ve been in love with Louis for a while now, and I really enjoy your company, I just can’t give you what you want.”

Nick just stared at him, nostrils flaring, and turned and punched the wall. Harry and Louis winced at the close vicinity of Nick’s fist. “Fuck,” Nick hissed, “God Harry, you just…. You shouldn’t have gone out with me at all!”

“I’m sorry,” Harry whispered, looking guilty.

Nick sighed. “Look, it’s okay, just… break up with me first next time, yeah?” he gave Harry a half smile that Harry somewhat returned. Nick nursed his fist that seemed like it was throbbing shaking it a bit from the force he put on the wall. He opened his mouth to say something else, but just shook his head and walked off. Louis whispered something to Harry after that and he giggled, pulling him in for another kiss, making everyone turn away from them after the drama subsided.

“Feeling proud of yourself, Cupid?” Zayn’s voice was suddenly right next to her and she jumped.

“Jesus!” she screeched, making Zayn laugh, “Don’t do that. But yes, I am as a matter of fact.” She really was. Proud wasn’t even all she was feeling; although she was proud of herself, she was mostly just relieved. Her dads were together, but this time they were out in public and she just felt great about everything. She actually still existed in her own time. Eleanor stood there, watching the lights flash on everyone’s face, just smiling so big her cheeks hurt. She did it. She actually did it.

“I’m proud of you, too. You came a long way from that babbling scared girl scaring me to death under that tree so long ago,” Zayn teased and Eleanor shoved him.

“Prick,” she muttered fondly, “but thanks.”

“You ready to go home, kiddo?” he asked, slinging his arm around his shoulder. She didn’t realize how tired she was until this moment. She nodded; the party really held nothing for her here. She did what she had to do and now all she really wanted to do was sleep.

“I’ll take you home, but I’m gonna hang here a bit with Perrie afterwards, then I’ll join you home,” Zayn told her, steering her towards the door.

“Whoa, no, go have fun with Perrie, I can go on my own, I’m totally fine,” Eleanor waved him off.

“You sure?” Zayn asked, his voice uncertain.

“Yes,” she assured him, “now go hang out with your girlfriend. She’s probably looking for you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Zayn smiled, “see ya on the flip side!” he yelled jokingly over his shoulder, making Eleanor laugh. He was such a nerd sometimes.

Eleanor headed towards the door, and just as she was about to leave, someone else intercepted her, much to her chagrin. 

“Hey, El, are you going?” Liam asked a bit hurriedly, looking around.

“Yeah?” she asked, looking at him confused. Why was he acting like a scared animal?

“Can you do me a favor?” he asked. She noticed his cheeks were a bit rosy and his hair a bit messed up, his words the teeniest bit slurred, so he probably had a little bit too much to drink.

“Er, sure,” she offered, hoping it wasn’t too difficult.

“Okay, so, um, Louis will be in the dorm tonight, but Meghan’s roommate won’t be, and she invited me over, and I don’t know where it’s going to lead but I left my box of condoms in the bedside table with the lamp on it and I really, really, want them, in case anything gets too heated, but I don’t want to leave now and make it obvious, so do you think you can get them for me? Her dorm is 8B you can just like slip them under the door so they’re there when we get back? Please, she’s coming back from the bathroom soon,” his eyes darted around again, and Eleanor had to fight the urge to laugh.

_Liam?_ Coming to her for _condoms?_ For a girl he just met? 

She felt like she should maybe talk sense into him, because he was drunk after all, but he was pleading with his big puppy dog eyes, so she sighed. “Yeah, fine, I’m not doing anything better anyway, can you hand me the key?”

Liam beamed at that and fished in the back pocket of his jeans and handed her the keys to his dorm, a triumphant smile on his face. She giggled at that and saluted him. “Good luck young one,” she said as she turned to leave and this time Liam laughed, a little too hard for the corny joke she made, and she shook her head, finally making it out the door. 

The air was still too hot to be refreshing in the warmer weather, but there was a light breeze that felt good on her blazed cheeks. She felt lighter than she had in weeks, so for a good measure she spun around, her curls spinning around her. They had mostly stayed intact, except a few that lost their curliness and hung limply at her sides, but she didn’t care. She would be going home tomorrow and it was so invigorating. She loved this world, but she really needed to get back. It was time.

She did take her time getting back to the dorm, though, drinking in the warm night, knowing it was her last one in 2013. It was weird, thinking that, after everything she had grown accustomed to here. She really felt as if she matured here; she _had_ come a long way from the girl crying to Zayn and basically had a panic attack. 

She finally did reach their dorms, heading over to Liam’s, regretting ever telling him she would. But she felt weird backing out now, after she gave him her word, so she trudged up the never ending staircase to the door. She tiredly pushed in the key, repressing the yawn trying to come out of her, flicking on the lights so she could see and shutting the door behind her. The lights were a bit too bright and she winced, rubbing at her eyes. She wanted her pillow. 

“Condoms, condoms, condoms,” she whispered to herself, heading over to the nightstand next to the bed, the one with the big lamp with a red lampshade covering it. She opened the first drawer, only finding some old packs of gum and a bank book, as well as some loose change and a pen. Okaaaaay, not useful. She opened the next one and rummaged around a bit, before her hand found a box.

“Aha!” she exclaimed, pulling the box out. She snorted at the fact they were extra-large before grabbing one out, pausing, then grabbing another out for good measure. They were cherry flavored, making Eleanor roll her eyes. She was sure that the flavor on the latex condom would not taste very well.

She was just shutting the drawer when she heard footsteps outside the door, followed by a loud giggle. Eleanor’s eyes widened, glancing down at the condoms in her hands, the open box still on the nightstand. She felt weird being in here, a dorm that wasn’t hers, fishing for condoms, so she left the box off the nightstand and hurried to the closet, shutting it with a click just as the front door flew open. She just hoped whoever was coming in would be quick so she could make her getaway. Her breath was heavy from the exertion, but it started to slow, and she squinted throw the slits in the closet door to see who barged in. She saw Harry’s long figure and Louis’ smaller one, the two of them whispering and giggling, Harry pushing Louis onto the bed with a little more force than he intended. Louis bobbed up and down on the mattress, laughing at how much the bed jostled, but all Eleanor could think was _this is not good_. She needed to get out, but then the two started kissing, and how weird would that be, if she jumped out of the closet as they were going at it?

The only sounds for a while were the sound of their lips smacking together, their breaths getting more labored, the sound of fabric moving as their hands roamed all over each other. Eleanor suppressed the groan; if this went any farther, she was going to throw up all over Liam’s neat little closet.

“God, I’ve been wanting to do this for so long,” Harry moaned, straddling Louis’ laying down figure, pushing their clothed crotches together. Through the material, you could tell they were both painfully hard, especially as Harry built up the friction, and Louis made a sort of whining sound in the back of his throat. 

“Dear _god_ ,” Eleanor whispered to herself in horror, turning away from the scene in front of her. It didn’t stop the sounds though, Eleanor noticed with chagrin; the moaning and breathing was getting louder.

“Harry?” Louis’ voice came out shaky, and Eleanor could tell that Harry was sucking on his neck from the sound of sucking, the little hiss of pain from Harry biting too hard, lips searching.

“Yes, Lou?” he replied, voice just as shaky with lust and need.

“Can I…? God, can I suck you off? I won’t know what I’m doing but I just wanna try it and I don’t know but you’re so hot and –“ Louis babbled, but then their lips were on each other again, Harry’s silent yes. There was the sound of a zipper going down and the shift of fabric as trousers were pulled down, plus a little sigh of relief, and Eleanor stuck her fist in her mouth to stop from screaming at this absurdity.

“ _God_ Lou,” Harry’s voice came out high pitched, strangled, “shit, _shit_.” Eleanor didn’t believe it was happening and chanced a tiny peek out of the closet, which she instantly regretted, only seeing Louis head bob up and down as Harry laid on the bed, legs spread and pants around his ankles as he was still toeing them off. They fell to the floor with a thud and Harry gasped loudly, knitting his eyebrows together, his mouth parting, as he grabbed on the sheets. His glasses were askew on his face, and Eleanor was sure that they would be off in a matter of time, but she quickly retreated back to the corner of the closet, not wanting to see anymore.

It was quiet for a moment, Harry’s breathing erratic, until he screamed Louis’ name loudly, cursing. Louis’ mouth came off of Harry with a pop, and it sounded like… _oh god_ , was he sucking some cum off of his finger? Eleanor gagged as Harry made a needy whine and brought Louis back to his lips, no doubt tasting himself there.

“Lou, I…” Harry breathed, “I want to….”

“Yes, love?”

“Can we, like, go all the way? I don’t want to rush, but I’ve wanted you for so long and I don’t think I can stand it,” Harry said quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth, a tint of embarrassment in his tone.

There was a pause. “Yes, god, but can I… um… can I top? I, er, know what I’m doing in that department. I’m pretty sure it’s basically the same as it is with girls.” Louis probably looked a bit sheepish, but she couldn’t blame him; he knew he was gay, but he shouldn’t test it too much by shoving a dick up his arse the first day.

“Okay,” Harry said, smile in his voice, “I’m um… I’m a virgin though.”

“You are?” Louis asked, surprised. Eleanor could imagine Harry’s face heating up, just like it did on the first party when Ed and Zayn were badgering him about his virginity.

“Yes,” he mumbled.

“Look, Harry, we’re both new at this, yeah? I think it’s sweet you’re a virgin. Hell, now I don’t have to beat the shit out of the other guys you’ve been with.” Eleanor could hear the smile in his voice as he reassuringly grabbed Harry’s hand. They started kissing again, the sound of the box opening as Louis fumbled for a condom. Good thing she left the box out, or Louis would have killed her later if she had taken the whole thing. She briefly remembered the reason she was in here to begin with and felt a twinge of guilt for poor Liam who wouldn’t have any condoms when he got to Meghan’s dorm, but she snapped out of that thought as Harry gasped.

“Am I hurting you?” Louis fretted, his eyebrows probably pulled together anxiously.

“No,” Harry breathed, “so…big.” At that, they started to feverishly kiss again, the sound of skin on skin slapping together, the bed rustling as Louis thrusted, making Eleanor feel nauseous again. She tried covering her ears, but their dirty talk came in strongly as they got louder and Louis thrusted faster.

“God, Harry, you’re so _tight._ ”

“Faster, Lou, please, I wanna feel you.”

“You like that, huh? Say you like it Harry.”

“I, _god_ Lou, I love it.”

“So hot writhing for me, so pretty.”

After these words, there was always frantic kissing, some breathy moans and whines, the bed frame lightly thumping against the wall.

“Louis, I’m close,” Harry panted, “ _fuck_ ,” before orgasming again, screaming Louis’ name. A few more erratic pumps and Louis came with a shout of Harry’s name, riding it out. There was the sound of the condom being rolled up and throwing in the trash, and then it was just the sound of them breathing. 

Harry then chuckled lightly. “We’re so sticky,” he said, making Louis laugh.

“I’m not moving though,” Louis told him. Eleanor risked a peek at them , to see if it was safe yet, and she saw Louis tucked in Harry’s side, Harry petting his feathery hair lightly, the sheets tangled around their bodies. Harry pressed a light kiss to Louis’ head and Louis’ smile was so bright and lovely as he intertwined their hands together, his so much smaller in Harry’s. They both looked tired and a little bit rumpled, but they both looked so happy it made them pretty. Harry’s hair was curling widly and Louis’ was matted to his forehead a bit, both of their cheeks rosy and flushed, their lips a raw red. Eleanor felt intrusive in this little private moment, so she ducked back in the closet to wait for them to fall asleep before she made her move.

“Hey Lou?” Harry’s voice came after a silent moment.

“Hmm?”

“I love you.” Eleanor could hear the smile in his voice, no doubt the dimple out.

“I love you too, Harry.” Then he started to hum a soft tune to Harry, some melody with his soft voice, and it was wasn’t long before that died out and all Eleanor could hear was the sounds of their deep breathing. They were still all intertwined, limbs together, when she came out of the closet, so much it was difficult to tell what belonged to whom, and Eleanor shook her head fondly before tip toeing to the door and slipping out.

She shut the door quietly behind her with a gentle click, before she had to stop herself from laughing manically, crazily, at the absurdity of what had happened. She had to keep it to herself; Harry and Louis would be embarrassed, and all of their other friends would tease her mercilessly. And she really just wanted to erase it from her mind for the rest of her life, but to her chagrin, it was still very vivid. Liam owed her.

She was already tired before she got stuck in the porno that Harry and Louis had constructed, so she trudged back to her dorm, the fatigue that escaped her for a little settling back deep into her bones. When she made it in, she noticed that Zayn was already there, his sleeping form curled up in a ball on the couch. Smiling, Eleanor shook her head and slipped in her bed, not bothering to change, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

 

-

 

“Do you really have to go?” Zayn asked, blowing out the air in his cheeks. The two of them were stuffing the clothes Eleanor had acquired on the trip into the time machine, much fuller than the first day she got here. She had put on the outfit she wore there for nostalgia purposes, the black leggings, tight baby blue v-neck, and flip-flops, her flip-flops clacking all over the pavement. Zayn wore bare feet, since they decided to go before anyone was awake, so all he donned was a white t-shirt and striped blue pajama pants after he rolled out of bed. Eleanor tried not to giggle at his unruly hair that had no gel in it, the way it hung limply on his forehead and kept getting in his eyes. She was surprised Zayn could go in bare feet; the pavement was hot from the summer sun, yet all he did was curse every once in a while from stepping on a rock.

“Yes, I do,” Eleanor sighed, shutting the trunk, “I don’t belong here. I shouldn’t even exist here.”

“But I like you here,” Zayn said quietly, not looking at her face, “who am I going to gossip to like the little girl I am?”

Eleanor smiled at that. “You have Perrie. And now you have your new group of friends.” It was weird how far Zayn had gone since Eleanor came; he was quiet, reserved with no friends, and now here he was with the girl of his dreams and a steady group of friends that welcomed him with open arms. She knew Ed and Harry would fit seamlessly into their group, and it made her sad that she was the reason the big group happened, and now she had to leave it all behind.

“I know,” Zayn gave a half smile at that, “are you sure you don’t want to wait for everyone to wake up? Say your goodbyes? No one even knew you were leaving.”

“I think it’ll be easier this way. A clean break. Just tell them that I was offered an internship for a journalist magazine in Australia, remember? And that I’m not really your step cousin because honestly I don’t think anyone believed that and I need to cut all my ties to you guys anyway.” Her voice broke on the last part, the put together façade she put up crumbling. She took a deep, shaky breath and forced a smile. 

“I know,” Zayn said softly, “have fun in your regular life, okay? Try not to make too many dumb mistakes, because I’m pretty sure my old arse will beat you up if you do.”

Eleanor laughed, her eyes moist. “I’m sure you would too,” she smiled, “Bye Zayn, thank you so much for everything.” She pulled him in for a tight hug, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, resting her head against his chest. She breathed in the cigarette smell that lingered on his t-shirt and his strong after-shave, just breathing in _Zayn_ , hoping she wouldn’t cry. She’d save that for later.

“Anytime, El,” he said into her hair after a moment. They stood like that for a moment before Eleanor pulled away, thinking of the time. 

“I really should get going,” she sighed, “Take care of everyone for me, okay?”

“’Course,” he smiled at her, “Now let’s get this baby on the road!”

She laughed, sliding into the front seat, carefully clicking the red dial ‘til it read 2036. Since she only changed the year last time, the date and time were still the day that she left, so she didn’t have to tinker around with that. She wanted to go to the exact moment she left, so she didn’t miss anything while she was gone. She looked out the tinted window and saw Zayn looking at the car, biting his lip sadly, and she gave him a wave, hoping he would see it through the glass, before pressing the red button that had gotten her into this whole mess.

And then she was flying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter im gonna cry :(


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg so this is the last chapter I might cry I probably will after this ha ha ha ha ha

The only thing Eleanor could hear when she opened her eyes were the sound of her labored breathing and the sound of her heart beating erratically. She lifted her head off of the steering wheel, feeling dizzy from the machine’s previous movement. She took in the room she was in, confused, thinking she made some sort of mistake. 

She could tell she was in Zayn’s garage, but it wasn’t the way she left it. There were no clocks littering the walls, no quirky inventions scattered in messes; it was just a normal garage with two bikes hanging on the wall, a lawn mower parked in the corner, a few lawn chairs stacked against the wall. 

Huh?

She realized she was also alone, which was curious because when she had left, Zayn was in the garage with her, and Niall and Liam were pestering him to play football. She doubled checked the time dial, and she realized she had it right. So what then? She climbed out of the machine, slamming the door shut behind her, before making her way to the door to Zayn’s house from the garage. She pondered knocking, but then she shrugged and just walked in, knowing Zayn wouldn’t mind if he happened to be inside.

“Zayn?” she tentatively called out, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.

“Eleanor?” a voice came, but it was not Zayn’s. In fact, it was a woman’s voice that sounded vaguely familiar. How peculiar. 

Footsteps were soon coming from the staircase and Eleanor looked up to see who it was, and her heart stopped. It was Perrie, wearing a black fleece sweat suit, a smile on her face. She looked basically the same, but her hair was back to her natural blonde, a few gray hairs near her part, and her face had some laugh lines around the eyes. She was still tiny, though, and her hair was in a messy ponytail, still looking artful more than messy in only the way Perrie could achieve. Eleanor felt such a pang at Perrie she couldn’t help but run forward and wrap her arms around Perrie, a sob of relief coming out of her. Perrie squeaked in surprise, but wrapped her arms around Eleanor as well, laughing a bit.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” Eleanor demanded as she pulled away.

“I live here…?” Perrie voice was confused. 

“But-“ and Eleanor stopped, her eyes catching a sparkle by Perrie’s waist where her hand was perched, and she noticed the diamond ring that was sitting on Perrie’s finger. 

Holy _shit_. Perrie and Zayn got _married_. Married? Eleanor’s head was spinning so fast she could barely keep her thoughts in place. Her meddling with the past got Zayn married to Perrie, and the happiness that surged through her was indescribable. She _didn’t_ lose Perrie the night she left; she was right here, and Zayn wasn’t lonely anymore.

Perrie was still staring at her confused, her aged face still unfairly pretty, but Eleanor just smiled at her. “Sorry, I’m out of sorts this day, school’s been wearing me out. Can I see Zayn? Is he home?”

Interrupting Perrie before she could speak, Zayn materialized from the top of the stairs, looking just like she left him. Except there was a noticeable difference; he was brighter, glowing, as if he was happier, and the fact that it was Eleanor’s doing that did that made her proud.

“Hey, El!” Zayn smiled as he made his way down the stairs, “what’s up?” 

“Can I, er, talk to you in private for a minute?” she asked, glancing at Perrie to see if she was offended. She didn’t seem offended, just shook her head.

“You two,” she laughed, “I just that’s my cue to leave. Hon, the water’s on the stove if you could boil it for me real quick, I’ll make pasta for us in a bit.” The way Perrie said ‘you two’ gave Eleanor hope; it sounded like Zayn and she were still close in this time, even though he was married to Perrie. She still had her Zayn, the one that she went to for advice when Cher was being, well, Cher. This thought pleased her as well, a grin on her face.

“’Course,” he smiled, quickly pecking Perrie on the lips before leading Eleanor back out to the garage, which seemed was still their meeting place. “What’s – _oh_.” Zayn’s eyes settled on the time machine, its purple paint job glinting in the overhead lights. He was quiet for a minute, walking over to it, running his hands over it slowly, an indescribable emotion in his eyes.

“So, today is the day, isn’t it?” Zayn asked, “The day you went back in time and changed everything.”

Eleanor nodded as Zayn still inspected the machine. He let out a breathy laugh. “I haven’t seen this thing in like twenty years. It’s weird. I still remember the day you left vividly, though.”

“How did the others take it? Me leaving, I mean,” Eleanor asked, eager for information.

“Louis was angry. He was really angry you didn’t say goodbye. The rest were just really sad,” Zayn shrugged, “little did they know they would see you again, just as Harry and Louis’ child.”

“See, that’s where I’m confused,” Eleanor started, “they knew me what, twenty years ago? And then I come out as a child, yada, yada, yada, but didn’t they notice as I started to mature I look weirdly like their friend Eleanor all those years ago?”

“I’ve always wondered if anyone thought it was weird, but I don’t think so. They never got any pictures of you, El, no memory of you. You left without leaving a trace. It has been twenty years, and we are pretty old, so our memory isn’t as sharp. They remember the other Eleanor, sure, but not vividly, not enough to question how you look identical to her. If that all made sense,” Zayn attempted to explain, still tinkering with the machine. 

“No, I understand,” Eleanor responded, “How is Liam? And Niall?” She carefully didn’t ask about her dads; she wanted to find out herself, sure, but she also was a coward to find out. What if something horrible happened because she changed the past? 

“Liam is happily married with more kids than he can handle. Meghan takes it well though,” Zayn smiled, “and Niall is married as well. Him and Maria never had any kids, but they travel the world a lot, just exploring. You know Niall, he’s always been a bit quirky, and he’s found a girl who’s just like him.”

Eleanor smiled at that. “And you and Perrie are married, that’s… wow that’s great,” she beamed.

“Yeah, if it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be,” Zayn turned to look at her, gratitude on his face, “and we’re all still best friends, believe it or not. It’s great.”

“Anytime Zaynie,” she chirped, making him laugh, “now, um, I would wanna chat, but I kind of want to see my dads.” 

“Oh, yeah, of course, go ahead. I’m just gonna look at this thing for a little. It’s weird… I mean, I guess I’m still smart, but with Perrie and my job, I can’t see myself having time to make a time machine. The old Zayn must really have been lonely.”

“He was,” Eleanor was honest this time, “but he’s gone now.” It really was weird to think how that Zayn doesn’t exist anymore, thanks to her. But the new one was just as good as the old one, but happier.

“Well, I won’t keep you, go find your dads,” he waved her off and Eleanor nodded before lifting up the garage door and slipping out. The walk back to her house she almost had an anxiety attack, thinking of all of the horrible things she would come home to. Zayn would have warned her, wouldn’t he have? She pulled open the front door, sucking in a deep lungful of air, quietly shutting it behind her. She wasn’t met with any homey things, like the smell of baking, or the sound of a vacuum cleaner, or even the tv. Silence was all she could hear, and she felt the panic bubbling inside her.

“Dad?” she called, taking the stairs two at a time, “Daddy?” She poked her head in their bedroom, but the brown comforter was neatly made, no clothes on the ground. Louis would not leave the room spotless, so the panic resurfaced.

Just as she was about to scream again, she heard the front door open, followed by laughter. Her eyes widened as she sprinted down the stairs, almost tripping on the last one. She skidded to a stop when she saw her Dad and her Daddy, Harry and Louis, both in the doorway, struggling to get a pile of suitcases through the door. They looked the same of course, but as Zayn had, they looked brighter and glowing, and they both as a healthy tan on their skins, Louis’ hair not receding as much. They were both wearing those cheesy Hawaiian button downs, Louis donning a light blue one with white flowers, Harry in a yellow one with tropical palm trees all over it. Harry even had a pink lay around his neck, a white flower behind his ear. And what made it different is that they were both smiling… both _happy._

“Easy there kiddo, I know you missed us, but no need to hurt yourself,” Louis smiled, his eyes crinkling up at the sides.

“Wh-where were you?” she spluttered, her breath still jagged from the run.

“We went to Hawaii. Remember? You were all pissed because we wouldn’t take you?” Harry reminded her dragging the suitcases out of the foyer and plopping them on the floor with a thud.

“Me and your dad needed alone time, because seriously having you around is nice, but I love seeing my husband and having him all to myself…” Louis trailed off suggestively, making Harry blush.

“Oh hush,” he giggled, actually giggled, as if he wasn’t forty one and he was magically a young school girl again.

“I…” Eleanor didn’t know where to begin, “god I missed you guys so much,” she cried, tears springing to her eyes as she ran forward and almost toppled them both to the ground.

“Oh, god, my back, my brittle back is breaking,” Louis groaned, but there was a smile in his voice and he hugged her tight, petting her hair.

“Your brittle back wasn’t breaking last night when –“ Harry started but it was Louis’ turn to blush and he clamped a hand over Harry’s mouth. Harry playfully bit him and Louis swatted him away before they laughed again, both of them glowing. This was the Louis and Harry that Eleanor remembered as a child, the ones that were crazy in love and couldn’t control themselves around company. 

She did it.

She _really_ did it.

Her dads were back in love and happy, all because of her. She almost broke down crying, but she pushed it down and just smiled at the two of them. Her phone rang then, ruining the moment, and she rolled her eyes, holding up a finger to her dads before answering it.

“Hellllooo! Eleanor you still haven’t gotten back to me about the trip! Are we going or no?” Cher’s impatient voice trilled down the phone. She felt another wave of relief as she heard her best friend’s voice on the other line, at the fact that her meddling didn’t change anything with her best friend. She still had Cher, and the prospect of the trip, so she probably still had Bobby and Craig. As Cher babbled on, she realized how much she had really _missed_ Cher, her craziness and loud voice, so much she was about to cry _again._

“I’ll ask right now, my dads are right here,” Eleanor cut her off mid complaint, holding the phone to her chest to muffle it.

“Dad? Daddy?” she started, biting her lip, “can I, er, go to Cher’s lake house for the weekend? It will be me, her, Craig and B-Bobby, and no parents, but it’s only two days and –“

“Absolutely not!” Louis started in, his blue eyes wide, “you, Cher and two boys alone? No way.”

“Come on Lou, let her have fun,” Harry came in, smiling endeared at Louis’ horror, “you know we were doing stuff like her at our age. I trust Cher and you know Bobby’s a nice kid. It’s one weekend, and the lake house is what, twenty minutes away? If anything happens we’ll be right there. She’ll have her cellphone.”

Louis glared at Harry for not taking his side his lip pouting, “Fine. Be that way, take her side,” he sniffed.

“So… is that a yes?” she asked, excitement coloring her voice.

“Yes,” Harry confirmed, Louis still glaring. Eleanor giggled and brought the phone back to her ear.

“They said yes!”

“Woo!” Cher screeched, so loud she had to hold the phone away from her ear, making Harry laugh.

“Call me later for details, okay? My dads just came home, I want to hang out with them.” At those words, Louis’ face seemed to soften, a little smile on his lips.

After Cher said her goodbyes, Louis spoke up. “You don’t think you’re too cool to hang out with your old dads anymore?” 

“Of course not,” she grinned, “Now I’m gonna go make some hot chocolate and we can all sit on the couch and you call tell me all about your trip!” she clapped her hands together, already headed for the kitchen.

“But the bags-“ Harry started, but Louis grabbed his arm and towed him towards the living room.

“The bags can wait,” Louis grinned, “Now go get your cute butt on the couch before I pin you there myself,” he added cheekily, pinching Harry’s butt, making him giggle and swat Louis away again. Eleanor knew normal teenagers would be grossed out by this, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she boiled the water. Harry settled on the couch as Louis helped get the mugs out of the cabinet. Neither of them protested drinking hot chocolate, even though it was early spring again.

Louis was humming a song to himself, one that Eleanor didn’t recognize, but like the sound of. “What song is that, Daddy?” she asked, pouring in the chocolate mix.  
“Lego House,” Louis raised a brow, “you know, by our good friend Ed? Are you okay?”

Ed! Eleanor almost forgot about Ed and the fact that in her previous time neither Harry nor Louis ever mentioned him to them. In that time, Ed and Harry drifted she supposed, but the mentioning of his name now said otherwise. And he had a song?

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Eleanor waved her hand in a noncommittal gesture, “but um, yeah, what ever happened to him? I mean I know you’ve told me before, I just like hearing the story,” she asked as nonchalantly as she could, popping marshmallows into the drinks.

“You know,” Louis gave her a confused look, “after my old friend Eleanor forced me into the play all those years ago, I was being my ecstatic self and went after my dream? So this knowledge made me want others to go after theirs, and I knew that Ed was so talented, always writing songs and playing his guitar, and I was the one who encouraged him to go into singing. Now he’s some popstar, but he always keeps in touch.”

Eleanor was happy to hear that, but she didn’t miss the way Louis said ‘went after my dream.’ “Er, what do you mean, went after your dream?”

“I’m a drama teacher…?” Louis was looking at her like she was crazy, “and I was in those community plays?”

“Oh! That dream!” Eleanor laughed a little too forcefully, “I thought you meant like, a literal dream you had at night. My bad.”

Louis looked still confused, but continued, “It’s funny how my parents always had wanted me to do something practical, but I always wanted to do something with music and I love my drama kids more than anything and it’s just really nice. After I told my parents I was gay they didn’t want anything to do with me for a while, but it was okay. As you know now they’ve learned to deal with it and we’re all one big happy family again. But you’ve heard this story a billion times and I’m now boring you.” He laughed at that.

“And after he told them he wouldn’t stop holding my hand in public he was so in love, the sappy freak,” Harry called from the couch, ignoring Louis’ last comment of being boring.

“I was just proud to call you my boyfriend,” Louis shrugged, unabashed, “it was so great to be free after that party, you know?” He was talking more to Harry in the second part and Harry grinned at him, and she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but it looked like he winked.

So Louis did come out to his parents early on, unlike how he did in the past. And he came out to the school after the party, obviously, and he was more open about his gayness. All because of her. Eleanor was over the moon with all this news, her body to relieved and happy she was shaking, the hot chocolate almost spilling out of the cups.

“You okay El?” Louis asked, concerned, taking them from her and leading her towards the couch.

“Yeah, I just missed you guys so _much_ ,” she said, he voice breaking. If they were confused about her mood, they didn’t show it as they both tucked her in to another hug.

“We missed you too kiddo,” Harry murmured, squeezing her arm tight.

“Okay, enough of me being a baby,” she laughed shakily as they pulled away, “now, tell me all about your trip!” she clapped again, settling herself on the couch, taking a large sip of her hot chocolate. It burned her tongue a bit, but she didn’t care in the least.

Harry settled in to the story, Louis interrupting here and there and poking fun at him for taking so long, and Eleanor let herself go to laugh really loudly at their antics and chime in animatedly at times. She didn’t even care that she spilled hot chocolate on her pants or that Louis was making sex jokes again; she was home, and her dads were happy, and that was truly all that mattered. 

 

_End._

**Author's Note:**

> SO IT'S OVER *cries*
> 
> I'd like to thank Meghan again for being the best beta and friend out there and I'd also like to thank you all for being patient with me and sticking the whole fic out. Dear gosh I'm actually crying. It's been such a great process writing my first fic and hopefully they'll be more to come soon! Thanks again guys :')


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